Southeast Asian stock markets ended firmer on Friday, taking cues from Asian peers, as gains in US stocks and forecast-beating Chinese exports data boosted investor sentiment for the region's risky assets. The Philippines, the region's best performer this year, hit a record high of 6,859.79 before ending at 6,833.77, making a gain of 1.62 percent.
The Philippines' second-most valuable listed firm and conglomerate SM Investments Corp, which posted a 16.3 percent increase in full-year 2012 net profit, rose 4.7 percent, driving the overall index gain. Indonesia gained 0.5 percent to 4,874.50, marking record close for a third straight session, led by a 1.2 percent gain in Astra International Tbk PT.
Thailand closed 0.4 percent firmer at an 18-year high of 1,566.92, pushed up by construction shares, with Siam Cement Pcl rising 3.8 percent. Malaysia, Asia's worst performer in 2013, edged up 0.2 percent with a $112.43 million foreign inflow, while Vietnam, the region's smallest bourse, gained 0.9 percent on bargain hunting after the market fell to an oversold territory. Bucking the trend, Singapore edged down 0.3 percent, weighed by developers such as CapitaLand Ltd, which fell 3 percent on market talk about more government measures to cool the city-state's property market.