Asean stocks rally on prospects of US growth

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SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday as prospects of solid U.S. growth and further monetary stimulus in major markets whetted investors' risk appetite.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan  rose as much as 0.4 percent to 427.83, just below its year-to-date high of 428.22 hit on April 21.

Robust jobs data from the U.S. last week has bolstered views that the U.S. economy is on a sound footing despite a slow start to the year.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday that a hit to Britain's economy from the Brexit referendum could prompt the Bank to act, hinting again that more stimulus is on the way.
“
There is quite a bit of optimism about policy stimulus in the pipeline. They are looking at BOJ prepping to do more. They are expecting the BOE (Bank of England) to do something tomorrow. So there is an entire lineup of monetary and fiscal policy stimulus," said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist with Mizuho Corporate Bank in Singapore.

Philippine shares extended gains for a fourth straight session, hitting a more-than-1-year high, while Vietnam  climbed more than 2 percent to its highest in more than 8 years.

The rallies were aided by a court ruling that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within much of the South China Sea, which has been subject to territorial disputes by several countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
“
If the Philippines chooses to do some kind of a bilateral deal with China, they have got more leverage. So it means a lot of a China investments going into Philippines," Varathan added.

In other markets, Indonesia rose for a third straight session to its highest in more than a year, driven by telecom and energy stocks which accounted for nearly half of the gains.

Singapore edged higher as declines in the telecom sector were partially offset by gains from financial stocks.

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