(Sept 19): Most Southeast Asian stock markets were trading higher on Monday, tracking gains in Asian peers, ahead of crucial central bank meetings in the United States and Japan. "We expect soft market movements ahead of the FOMC meeting and the BOJ monetary policy meeting," said Taye Shim, an analyst with Daewoo Securities in Jakarta, adding he expected a continuation of the status quo. The Bank of Japan meets on Wednesday and could well go in the opposite direction by easing policy, though conflicting reports on what it might do have stoked much uncertainty. Vietnam shares rose after five consecutive sessions of falls, supported by financial stocks. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.1 percent.

Source: The Edge Markets September 19, 2016 04:41 UTC