Most Southeast Asian stock markets rise; Vietnam gains over 2 pct

(Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets rose in thin trading on Friday, with Vietnam gaining 2.2 percent and the Philippines climbing 1.8 percent, as investors hunted for bargains following last month's fall.

In Vietnam, industrials were among the top gainers as factories saw record growth in new export orders last month.

Vietjet Aviation climbed nearly 7 percent, while Vietcombank rose 5.4 percent.

For the week, Vietnam shares gained 3 percent, snapping two straight weekly falls.

In the Philippines, real estate and consumer stocks led the gains, with SM Investments Corp up 4.4 percent and Ayala Land rising 1.9 percent.

"It's really more of a technical rebound today, as the index broke 7,500 a couple of days ago because of concerns on Italy and local inflation," said Jose Vistan, research head at AB Capital Securities.

Investors also took heart from China A-shares' long-awaited inclusion in MSCI's benchmark market indexes, a step that is expected to boost foreign inflows in the coming months.

For the week, Philippine shares declined 0.2 percent in their third straight weekly drop. Malaysian shares rose nearly 1 percent, extending gains into a second session, buoyed by financials.

Malayan Banking rose about 4 percent. Thai shares declined with oil and gas producer PTT shedding 1.4 percent.

The index fell 1.2 percent this week, in its fourth straight weekly drop. Thailand's annual headline inflation in May rose to its highest in 16 months, but well within the central bank's target range of 1-4 percent.

Singapore shares were little changed, but posted their third straight weekly decline. Indonesian financial markets were closed for a local holiday.