Reuters - Indonesian shares jumped 3.2 percent on Friday, their biggest one-day gain in almost six months, after main opposition PDI-P party named Jakarta's hugely popular governor, Joko Widodo, as its candidate for this year's presidential election.

Joko Widodo's candidacy as president triggered late buying in banking and large cap shares due to positive economic prospects.

"The rally is driven by sentiment that Indonesia will have a good president that is willing to take difficult decision, have good and clean historical track record, pro-development for all," said Wilianto Le, Head of Research at Maybank Kim Eng.

"... and most of all an expectation of smooth transition of power to opposition party which shows Indonesia is turning into a developed democracy," he wrote in a report.

Jakarta's Composite Index closed at 4,878.64, the highest since June 2013, ending the week up 4.1 percent, Southeast Asia's best performer.

It slipped earlier amid weakness in the region due to concerns about the crisis in Ukraine and weaker-than-expected Chinese data.

"The market is quite excited about the nomination of Jokowi. This could drive JCI to the 5,000 level in the near term," said Harry Su, head of research at broker Bahana Securities.

Shares of Bank Mandiri jumped 9.1 percent while Bank Rakyat Indonesia surged 10.5 percent. Thai stocks extended their gains for a third week, rising 1.3 percent, after the Bank of Thailand cut its benchmark interest rate and amid expectations about a possible removal of the emergency decree.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on day
Market Current Prev Close Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 405.76 403.71 +0.51
Singapore 3073.72 3081.39 -0.25
Kuala Lumpur 1805.12 1818.86 -0.76
Bangkok 1372.18 1370.50 +0.12
Jakarta 4878.64 4726.17 +3.23
Manila 6391.24 6429.79 -0.60
Ho Chi Minh 596.83 595.22 +0.27

Change on year
Market Current End 2013 Pct Move
TR SE Asia Index* 405.76 388.37 +4.48
Singapore 3073.72 3167.43 -2.96
Kuala Lumpur 1805.12 1866.96 -3.31
Bangkok 1372.18 1298.71 +5.66
Jakarta 4878.64 4274.18 +14.14
Manila 6391.24 5889.83 +8.51
Ho Chi Minh 596.83 504.63 +18.27

Stock Market Volume (shares)
Market Current Volume Average Volume 30 days
Singapore 288,544,700 231,361,330
Kuala Lumpur 148,488,900 129,051,360

Bangkok 8,339,926 5,766,702
Jakarta 6,418,320,600 3,692,478,493
Manila 47,929 81,919
Ho Chi Minh 163,990 139,823