CIMB surges in Malaysia as merger talks flounder

BANGKOK, Jan 13 (Reuters): Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Tuesday, with a rally in shares of Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings helping the index rise to a more than one-week high, while investors bought select shares in the results season.

Kuala Lumpur's composite index extended gains for a fourth session, ending the day up 0.8 per cent at 1,748.90, its highest close since January 2.

CIMB shares surged 14.3 per cent, its best single-day gain since February 2001 and the biggest percentage gainer on the index. The stock ended at 5.92 ringgit, its highest close since November 19.

Malaysia's proposed $20 billion merger to create the nation's biggest bank is likely to be scrapped after CIMB and RHB Capital failed to agree on new deal terms, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Indonesia's Bank Negara climbed 1.2 per cent ahead of the release of its full-year 2014 earnings report, likely to be the first bank to announce results, a broker said.

In Bangkok, shares of Siam Commercial Bank inched up 0.3 per cent before fourth-quarter results due next week while the broader SET index recovered from losses earlier in the day to close 0.3 per cent higher.

Persistent weakness in oil prices weighed on energy-related shares across the region, with Singapore's Keppel Corp sliding 1.5 per cent and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production ending 2.7 per cent lower.

Stocks in the Philippines rebounded from the previous session's decline, closing at 7,399, just shy of its record closing high on January 9. Foreign investors bought shares worth a net 956 million peso ($21.36 million) for the third straight session.

Trading volumes were at about 80 per cent a full day's average over the past 30 sessions.

Investors stayed on the sidelines in a shortened trading week, with the Philippine stock market shut on Thursday and Friday for a public holiday.

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