SE Asia stocks rebound as US-China trade war fears ease

The Stock Exchange of Thailand index and other Southeast Asian stock markets gained on Thursday, as Washington expressed willingness to negotiate a resolution with Beijing, assuaging fears of a full-blown trade war between the two nations.

The SET main index climbs 0.87% to close at 1,739.92 on Thursday. (set.or.th photo)

Broader Asian shares outside Japan gained 0.6%, after Wall Street's three major indexes staged a comeback to close around 1% higher overnight.

The SET main index rose 14.94 points or 0.87% to close the week at 1,739.92, in trade worth 61 billion baht.

Singapore shares closed nearly 2% higher, after having slumped 2.1% on Wednesday, with financials leading the recovery.

The city-state's biggest lender, DBS Group Holdings Ltd gained 3.1%, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd climbed 2.2%.

Malaysian shares rose 1.1%, with top lenders CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd ending 1.6% and 1.4% higher, respectively.

Malaysia's exports in February fell 2% from a year earlier, easing sharply from the 17.9% growth recorded in January, government data showed.

Philippine stocks closed 0.3% higher, with conglomerate SM Investments Corp gaining 1.5%.

The Philippine central bank will review the need for a measured policy response to anchor price expectations, Governor Nestor Espenilla said on Tuesday, signalling that a near-term rate increase might be on the cards after inflation accelerated at its fastest pace in five years last month.

A weakening currency and rising inflation rate have made the Philippine equity market Asia's worst performer so far this year.

Indonesian shares ended 0.4% higher, with telecom and consumer staples being the top gainers.

Telecom firm Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk Perusahaan Perseroan PT rose 2.2% while Unilever Indonesia Tbk PT closed nearly 1% higher.

The index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks rose 0.5%.

Vietnam shares rose marginally, marking their 16th winning session in 19. The index had jumped 21.1% this year as of Wednesday's close.