Indonesian shares rose 1.6 percent on Monday, driven by gains in consumer stocks on the likelihood of a higher palm oil import quota from China, while Malaysian shares fell for a fourth straight session ahead of the general elections on Wednesday. China is open to increasing its import quota for Indonesian palm oil by at least 500,000 tonnes, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday.
This drove consumer stocks, according to Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific Oanda. Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil.
The Jakarta SE Composite Index, which has been the second worst performer so far this year, snapped two consecutive sessions of decline and posted its sharpest gain in three-and-a-half months. Meanwhile, Indonesia's economy grew 5.06 percent on an annual basis in the first quarter, weaker than the previous quarter's 5.19 percent and a Reuters poll forecast of 5.18 percent.
The finance minister said the first-quarter growth was a "positive" development, as investment grew more than 7 percent from a year earlier while exports increased 6 percent. An index of Indonesia's 45 most liquid stocks gained 2.3 percent.
Among other Southeast Asian stock markets which gained, Vietnam jumped 3.45 percent, the most since mid-February. Financials were the top performers with Vietcombank rising 5.3 percent to a two-week closing high.
Malaysian stocks closed 0.7 percent lower, largely pulled down by financials. CIMB Group Holdings ended 1.5 percent lower, extending losses into a fifth session, while Malayan Banking Bhd dropped 0.8 percent. Philippine shares slipped 0.2 percent to their lowest close in more than two weeks. Security Bank Corp was the biggest drag with a drop of 2.7 percent.
Singapore shares fell 0.4 percent to their lowest close in nearly three weeks. Index heavy-weight Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp declined 3.5 percent after the lender posted quarterly profit below estimates.
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