EMERGING MARKETS-Asian equities buoyed as deal to end US shutdown clears Senate

By Shivangi Lahiri

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Singapore’s benchmark index hit an all-time high on Tuesday, while South Korean and Taiwanese shares edged toward their record peaks as risk appetite got a boost from the U.S. Senate approving a deal to end the longest government shutdown in the country's history.

Singapore's FTSE Straits Times index .STI rose as much as 1.4% to a record 4,552.05 points, recouping losses from Monday's session and driven by a more than 1% rally in top lenders: DBS DBSM.SI, OCBC OCBC.SI, and United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI.

That also drove the MSCI ASEAN equity index .MISU00000PUS to a near five-week high in its fifth consecutive day of gains.

Asian equities have benefited from progress made towards the end of the longest U.S. government shutdown, resuming a rally that faltered last week on concerns that the long-running AI rally has stretched equity valuations.

Asian equities followed the move higher in U.S. equities overnight, said Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG in Singapore.

"With the end of the U.S. government shutdown nearing, that will solve the data uncertainty and help lift investor sentiment. We are seeing the spillover effects from the technical rebound in U.S. equities on Asian equities today."

Chan struck a cautious note, though, warning that there could be some near-term resistance following a technical rebound in U.S. equities.

Stocks in Seoul .KS11 and Taipei .TWII also stayed in the green but were just a few pips shy of their earlier lifetime highs hit on November 4. South Korea's KOSPI index .KS11 jumped nearly 3%, while Taiwan's benchmark index .TWII added over 1%.

Both countries are key beneficiaries of surging AI-related investments globally.

Meanwhile, the South Korean won KRW=KFTC eased 0.6% to 1,465 against the U.S. dollar, its weakest point since early April.

Malaysian stocks .KLSE advanced around 1% as well to hit their highest level in over a month. Investors are awaiting the country's third-quarter economic growth data at the end of the week.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Philippine stocks .PSI bucked the trend, falling as much as 1.3% to over a five-year low, while the peso PHP= edged marginally lower.

Equities in Jakarta .JKSE reversed early gains to fall around 0.3%, with the Indonesian rupiah IDR= weakening by a similar margin.

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