Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday, tracking broader Asian shares that marked a 10-year top on improved prospects for global economic growth, with the Philippine and Thai indexes hitting record closing highs. A raft of strong manufacturing data that underscored an upturn in world economic growth boosted risk appetite, lifting Asian stocks further after they jumped 1.4 percent on Tuesday in their best performance since last March.
"The regional markets are really bullish about the year ahead, so that's influencing their performance today," said Lexter Azurin, an analyst with AB Capital Securities in Manila. Philippine shares surged almost 2 percent, their best day in nearly two years, on the first trading day of 2018.
SM Investments Corp, one of the country's largest conglomerates, surged to a record high and accounted for most of the gains on the index, while JG Summit Holdings Inc climbed to its highest since November 14. "I think the (Philippine) tax reform package is the very essence of the infrastructure push of the government, so we are seeing a lot of optimism on that aspect," Azurin said.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said last month that lawmakers were expected to pass more measures in 2018 under his comprehensive tax reform agenda, after signing a bill containing the first batch of reforms into law. Thailand rose 1.4 percent to mark a record closing peak, with energy stocks and industrials leading the gainers.
Airports of Thailand touched a record high, pushing up the Thai benchmark, while oil company PTT added 2.3 percent. Data on Wednesday showed Thailand's inflation rose again in December, but below forecasts and within the central bank's target range, giving policymakers room to keep interest rates low.
Singapore shares closed 1 percent higher, led by gains in DBS Group Holdings Ltd, the city-state's biggest stock by market capitalisation, while Malaysia rebounded from losses in the previous session to climb 0.6 percent. Indonesia, however, retreated from an intraday record hit in the previous session, with consumer staples and telecommunication services dragging down the index. Index heavyweight Telekomunikasi Indonesia dropped to a near two-week low, while Unilever Indonesia fell 3.4 percent.
"Over the course of yesterday, the index surged to 6,445 at one point in time; I think the rally was too fast-paced, this prompted market participants to take profit, rather than take a long position," said Taye Shim, head of research at Mirae Asset Sekuritas.
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