Singapore stocks closed at a more than 4-month high on Wednesday, leading the gains in Southeast Asia after US President Donald Trump said he could relax the China trade deal deadline, while Philippines fell for the fourth straight day. Trump said on Tuesday that he could let the March 1 deadline to reach a trade agreement "slide for a little while," although he added he was not inclined to do so. However, his remarks spurred a rally in Wall Street overnight, as well as a number of Asian players.
The Singapore index, which has a high trade exposure with China, outpaced its peers for the day with a 1.4 percent rise, posting its highest close since Oct. 3, 2018. Financials bolstered the benchmark with lender United Overseas Bank Ltd jumping 2.5 percent.
The Thai index rose 0.8 percent, with energy stocks leading broad-based gains as they garnered support from higher oil prices after producer club Opec announced a supply cut in January. Shares of petroleum explorer PTT Exploration and Production PCL advanced 2.1 percent, and were among the largest boosts to the index. The Vietnam benchmark rose for the third day, closing about 0.8 percent higher, driven by financial and consumer stocks.
However, the Philippine index, which has outperformed its peers this year so far, declined for a fourth consecutive session to end 1.1 percent lower, pressured by industrial and financial stocks. Industrial conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc dropped 3.9 percent and was the top loser on the benchmark, whereas BDO Unibank Inc fell 1.1 percent.
Philippine's latest downturn appears to be a flow driven correction due to international investors reallocating their funds, said Rachelle C Cruz, an analyst with AP Securities. Meanwhile, Malaysian shares ended 0.1 percent lower ahead of the country's fourth-quarter GDP figures release on Thursday.