SE Asian Stocks-Indonesia hits 7-week high, Vietnam falls

By Tan Wei Xin

SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian markets
mostly rose on Tuesday, lifted by financials and commodities
related stocks, such as Southern Steel (STEE.KL) and Bank
Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI.JK).

Singapore's Straits Times Index .FTSTI rose 0.7 percent,
Indonesian .JKSE gained 1.7 percent to hit a seven-week high
and the Philippines .PSI rose 1.6 percent to a three-week
high. But Vietnam .VNI tumbled 1.7 percent, near a two-year
low.

"It's still too early for fund managers to take positions.
In the next six months, Asian markets will be in a
consolidation stage -- they will be trying to form a trading
basis for recovery," said Gabriel Yap, senior dealing director
of DMG Securities.

The Malaysian .KLSE index fell 0.5 percent and Thai
.SETI stocks slipped 0.4 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, palm oil firms IOI Corp (IOIB.KL) and Sime
Darby (SIME.KL) fell 2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively,
after palm oil futures eased.

Malaysia's Southern Steel surged 17.5 percent and rival
steel firm Ann Joo Resources (ANNJ.KL) rose 4.6 percent to
all-time highs after the government freed up supplies on
Monday, which analysts said should benefit steel mills.

"This move is conceptually positive for steel millers. In
our opinion, the move will help make domestic steel pricing
more transparent," DBS Vickers analyst Wong Ming Tek said in a
research note.

Singapore's Wilmar International (WLIL.SI), the world's
largest-listed palm oil firm, ended 1.2 percent higher after
recording a seven-fold jump in quarterly earnings and the firm
expects to profit from soaring commodity prices.

Gains in Indonesian shares were led by third-largest lender
Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) (BBRI.JK). Its shares rose 6.7
percent after Morgan Stanley picked the lender as one of its
top stock picks.

BRI has upside potential far outweighing downside risks at
current valuations, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a client
note, adding that amongst all the Indonesian banks, BRI sees
the most upside potential.

PTT Exploration and Production (PTTE.BK), a unit of
Thailand's largest energy firm, led fallers after shedding 3.2
percent while Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp (AC.PS) headed
gainers after jumping nearly 7 percent despite posting a 53
percent drop in its first-quarter earnings.

But analysts said they see Ayala doing better in the second
quarter and expect growth of 10-13 percent in Ayala Corp's
recurring profits this year.
(Editing by Louise Heavens)