* MAS tightens monetary policy for 2nd time this year
* Malaysia rises after 7 straight sessions of falls
By Niyati Shetty
Oct 12 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets edged
higher on Friday, recovering from the previous session's sharp
falls after a weaker-than-expected rise in U.S. inflation for
September partly tempered expectations of more aggressive
Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent last month
after climbing 0.2 percent in August. Excluding the volatile
food and energy components, the CPI edged up 0.1 percent for the
second straight month, after gaining 0.2 percent in May, June
and July.
Asian shares appeared tentative, holding steady after a
nine-session losing streak, but sentiment was frail after Wall
Street shares crumbled and expectations of market volatility
shot up to an eight-month high.
Indonesian shares gained up to 1.2 percent, boosted
by financials and telecoms. Bank Central Asia rose 2.5
percent, while Telekomunikasi Indonesia climbed 2.2
percent.
This is primarily driven by U.S. inflation data as investors
were dying for any kind of relief, said Taye Shim, head of
research at Mirae Asset Sekuritas.
Since Indonesia is a domestic driven economy, it reinforced
investor confidence a little bit more, he added.
"However, it is a very fragile recovery and investors should
not be overly excited... The market itself will remain volatile
until the end of the year," he said.
Worries about the economic impact of Sino-U.S. trade spat, a
spike in U.S. bond yields this week and caution ahead of the
earnings season are all cited as potential reasons behind
Thursday's selloff.
Malaysian stocks rose as much as 0.8 percent,
posting their sharpest intraday gain in a month and heading for
their first session of gain in eight.
Tenaga Nasional climbed 2.7 percent, while Malayan
Banking gained 1.9 percent.
Philippine shares rose up to 0.8 percent, helped by
consumer staples. Universal Robina Corp gained 3.9
percent, while conglomerate Ayala Corp gained 1.4
percent.
Singapore shares climbed over half a percent after
six straight sessions of declines.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened its
monetary policy for the second time this year, in line with
expectations, saying the city-state's economy is likely to
expand steadily barring a setback to global growth from trade
frictions between the United States and China.
Keppel Corp gained 1.3 percent, while Jardine
Matheson rose 1.2 percent.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0412 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3053.08 3047.39 0.19
Bangkok 1693.04 1682.89 0.60
Manila 6938.54 6884.38 0.79
Jakarta 5753.645 5702.822 0.89
Kuala Lumpur 1722.47 1708.49 0.82
Ho Chi Minh 956.43 945.89 1.11
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3053.08 3402.92 -10.28
Bangkok 1693.04 1753.71 -3.46
Manila 6938.54 8558.42 -18.93
Jakarta 5753.645 6355.654 -9.47
Kuala Lumpur 1722.47 1796.81 -4.14
Ho Chi Minh 956.43 984.24 -2.83
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
