SE Asia Stocks-Mostly at 1-week high; Thailand at 11-month peak

* Property shares and financials propel Singapore higher

* Thai banks lead gainers amid economic optimism

BANGKOK, Aug 24 - Most Southeast Asian stock indexes hovered around a one-week high on Monday, buoyed by optimism about economic recovery, with property and financials such as CapitaLand and DBS leading the way in Singapore.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> climbed 2.7 percent to close at its highest since Aug. 14, with CapitaLand <CATL.SI>, Southeast Asia's largest developer, rising 3 percent and top lender DBS Group <DBSM.SI> adding 2.1 percent.

Analysts in the region attributed the rally in Southeast Asian shares to a surge in U.S. stocks on Friday following upbeat U.S. housing data and optimistic comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

U.S. stock index futures indicated a stronger start on Wall Street on Monday. [nL0443941]

"The U.S. breaking a new high is pretty indicative. That's one reason the market is doing well today," an analyst at a brokerage firm in Singapore said.

"There should be more momentum in the market from the U.S. side. I think in the short term there's still quite a bit of upside. A medium-term trend might see some correction," the analyst said.

Outperformers in the city-state included Genting Singapore <GENS.SI> and United Overseas Bank <UOBH.SI>, which each rose more than 3 percent.

Malaysia's index <.KLSE> added 0.9 percent to its highest since Aug. 17, Indonesia's index <.JKSE> gained 1.8 percent to its highest since Aug. 18 and Thailand's index <.SETI> added 1.4 percent to its highest since September last year.

The Philippine index <.PSI> jumped 5.1 percent and Vietnam's <.VNI> rose for a fourth day, ending 1.7 percent higher. [ID:nHAN383559]

In Thailand banks were among the market gainers amid expectations the sector would benefit from the country's improving economic outlook, with Bangkok Bank <BBL.BK> up 2.7 percent and fourth-ranked Kasikornbank <KBAN.BK> up 2.4 percent.

Thai GDP data on Monday showed the country pulled out of recession in the second quarter.[nBKK378885]

In Kuala Lumpur, lender MayBank <MBBM.KL> rose 1.4 percent and shipping firm MISC <MISC.KL> gained 2.3 percent. In Jakarta, Astra International <ASII.JK> was up 3.2 percent and Bank Rakyat <BBRI.JK> was 2.7 percent higher.

A bright spot in the region included shares in palm planters. They tracked rising Malaysian crude palm oil futures, which hit a one-week intraday high on Monday. [nJAK380017]

Wilmar International <WLIL.SI> surged 5.4 percent, Golden Agri-Resources <GAGR.SI> gained 4.2 percent and Astra Agro Lestari <AALI.JK> jumped 4.7 percent. ($1=34.00)