KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Southeast Asian stocks edged higher today as Malaysian shares rose after the government moved to allay concerns over fast-rising debt while Thai stocks regained recent lost ground on selective buying in battered large caps.

Malaysia’s index was up 0.06 per cent as gains in large caps such as Petronas Chemicals outweighed

losses in property shares which were hit by the government’s announcement of measures to cool the sector’s surge. 

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said the proposed 2014 budget has no impact on the sovereign ratings and outlook on Malaysia while Fitch Ratings said the budget signalled reform.

Affin Investment Bank said in a report it maintained an ‘overweight’ rating on Malaysian equities, with the index’s end-2013 target of 1,830 and end-2014 target of 1,900. It cited positive implications of the 2014 budget on the capital market.

At 0712 GMT, the index was at 1,818.67.

The Thai SET index was up 0.5 per cent at midday, with shares in Kasikornbank, the most actively traded, up 0.8 per cent after a fall in the previous session.

Trading on the Thai stock exchange was relatively subdued, with volumes falling to a third of a full day average over the past 30 sessions, partly due to weak manufacturing output data for September.

Gains in broader Asia helped lift broad sentiment in the region, with Singapore and Indonesia hovering in positive territory.

The Philippine stock market is closed today for a public holiday, and will reopen tomorrow. — Reuters