Southeast Asian stocks mostly gained on Wednesday as hopes of more monetary stimulus from the US Federal Reserve buoyed sentiment, with Singapore rising for a sixth session to a 16-month high and Thailand climbing to a near 17-year peak. Singapore's Straits Times index finished at 3,141.57, the highest close since August, 2011. Thai SET index ended at 1,354.57, the highest close since February 1996.

Malaysia was up 0.5 percent, extending its gains for a seventh session. Indonesia and Vietnam both produced a third-straight gain, edging up 0.45 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Across the region, investors sought value buys, including shares in consumer related and construction sectors such as Singapore's United Overseas Bank Ltd and Thailand's industrial conglomerate Siam Cement Pcl. Bucking the trend, the Philippine main index ended down 0.2 percent at 5,819.79 on late selling, after earlier touching an all-time high of 5,859.54.

Copyright Reuters, 2012