Most Southeast Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, with Vietnam and Singapore leading gains after the European Commission agreed to changes in a Brexit deal, whetting appetite for riskier assets.
Investors, who have long grappled with Britain's exit from the European Union, caught a break after the European Commission agreed to additional assurances in an updated Brexit deal ahead of a vote in British parliament.
A strong performance on Wall Street coupled with the development in the deal lifted sentiment across broader Asia, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closing 1 percent higher.
Singapore stocks gained 0.7 percent, with Real estate companies like City Developments Ltd and CapitaLand Mall Trust rising 2 percent and 2.1 percent respectively, boosting the benchmark.
Commodities trader Wilmar International Ltd closed 1.3 percent higher and was among top gainers, after signing a deal post market hours on Monday to acquire full control of bread and spreads maker Goodman Fielder.
Vietnam's index jumped 1.7 percent, its highest closing level in over 5 months, with financial and real estate stocks boosting the index.
Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam added 3.5 percent and Vietnam Technological And Commercial Joint Stock Bank gained 1.9 percent.
Malaysian stocks followed suit, ending 0.4 percent higher. Aluminium manufacturer Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Berhad rose about 2.6 percent.
Philippine stocks edged higher as gains in industrials outweighed weakness in real estate scrips.
Conglomerate and index giant SM Investments Corp rose 2.3 percent, while electric utilities provider Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc settled nearly 2 percent higher.
Meanwhile, the country's January trade data showed that exports slipped 1.7 percent and imports grew about 5.8 percent from a year ago, widening the country's trade deficit slightly.
Bucking the trend, Indonesia's index edged lower as material stocks such as paper makers Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk and Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia Tbk slipped.
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