SE Asia Stocks-Philippines outperforms after Fitch upgrade; Indonesia hits record

BANGKOK, March 27 (Reuters) - The main Philippine index scaled a record high on Wednesday after Fitch Ratings upgraded the country's sovereign rating to investment grade and the Indonesian index closed at an all-time high after the appointment of a new central bank governor.

Other Southeast Asian stock markets crawled higher, joining those in broader Asia, comforted by positive U.S. data.

Philippines

was an outperformer on the day, ending up 2.7 percent at 6,847.47, as investors increased positions in large caps after the country won an investment grade credit rating for the first time.

"It's something that was already expected by the stock market but I think investors will welcome it and that will push the main index to 7,000 possibly next week," said Jose Vistan, head of research at AB Capital Securities.

Shares in SM Investments Corp

, the biggest company by market value, jumped 5.3 percent while Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

, the second biggest, climbed 4.2 percent.

Vistan expects the market to rally further despite concerns over its high valuation. It traded at 20.77 times the price-to-earnings multiple, higher than regional peers, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The Philippine stock market will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Easter holidays. Trading will resume on Monday.

Jakarta's Composite Index

, the second best performer on the day, ended 1.8 percent higher at 4928.10, surpassing its previous record close of 4,874.49 set on March 8.

Investors bought large caps such as Bank Mandiri

which gained 4.2 percent after parliament approved Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo's proposed switch to become the next head of the central bank.

The Thai SET index

rose 1.1 percent to a 1-week high of 1,560.87 as investors bought shares in companies expected to report strong quarterly results but some small and mid-cap stocks were hit by a tightening in trading rules.

Nomura Equity Research maintained a year-end target 1,600 for the SET index.

"2013 marks the beginning of a seven-year government spending on infrastructure. This, we believe, will likely keep the economy and earnings for domestic sectors buoyant over the next few years," Nomura said in a note.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 447.91 444.39 +0.79 Singapore 3313.03 3288.53 +0.75 Kuala Lumpur 1667.57 1652.83 +0.89 Bangkok 1560.87 1544.03 +1.09 Jakarta 4928.10 4842.52 +1.77 Manila 6847.47 6665.12 +2.74 Ho Chi Minh 491.26 489.46 +0.37 Change on year Market Current End prev yr Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 447.91 424.10 +5.61 Singapore 3313.03 3167.08 +4.61 Kuala Lumpur 1667.57 1688.95 -1.27 Bangkok 1560.87 1391.93 +12.14 Jakarta 4928.10 4316.69 +14.16 Manila 6847.47 5812.73 +17.80 Ho Chi Minh 491.26 413.73 +18.74

* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index

is a highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Stock Market Volume (shares) Market Current Volume Average Volume 30 days Singapore 322,964,800 272,313,503 Kuala Lumpur 230,667,600 157,338,880 Bangkok 14,194,197 17,640,294 Jakarta 6,721,596,000 6,319,749,850 Manila 86,928 134,853 Ho Chi Minh 38,972 62,565

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)

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Keywords: MARKETS SOUTHEASTASIA STOCKS/