By Sandhya Sampath
    Aug 4 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended
higher on Friday tracking peers in Asia, with the Philippines
leading the pack on bargain-hunting.
    MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 was marginally higher ahead of the U.S. jobs
report later in the day.
    Investors will scrutinise the report for clues on whether it
could influence the timing of the Federal Reserve's plans to
tighten monetary policy.
     Philippine shares ended 0.7 percent higher buoyed by
gains in utilities and financial stocks. The benchmark index is
down 1.7 percent on week, its worst this year. 
    Energy Development Corp surged to end the session
16 percent higher after the renewable power producer said on
Thursday a consortium of investors had offered to buy about a
third of the company.
    Its parent, First Gen Corp gained 6.1 percent.
Shares of both the companies saw heavy trading activity.
    "The market today is largely boosted by the performance of
EDC and First Gen," said Charles Ang, an analyst with
Manila-based COL Financial.
    Today's rise could also be due to bargain-hunting as the
index has declined by over 200 points over the last few days,
Ang added.
    Philippines' annual inflation was 2.8 percent in July,
picking up slightly from the previous month's revised 2.7
percent rate.
    Malaysia ended 0.2 percent higher, aided by
financials and industrials. Public Bank Bhd ended 0.8
percent higher, while MISC Bhd closed up 0.4 percent.
    The index ended a third straight week higher.
    Malaysia's exports in June grew 10 percent from a year
earlier, government data showed.
    Bucking the trend, Singapore ended 0.3 percent down, 
as oil and gas stocks took a hit from lower oil prices.
    Sembcorp Industries lost 1.6 percent, while DBS
Group Holdings ended 2.5 percent lower after it
flagged pressures on asset quality.
    Singapore shares snapped five weeks of gains to end
marginally lower for the week.
          
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS        
 Change on day                                      
 Market            Current       Previous Close    Pct Move
 Singapore         3326.52       3342.92           -0.49
 Bangkok           1580.26       1578.25           0.00
 Manila            7932.82       7876.66           0.71
 Jakarta           5777.482      5780.576          -0.05
 Kuala Lumpur      1774.53       1771.9            0.15
 Ho Chi Minh       788.68        788.49            0.02
                                                    
 Change on year                                     
 Market            Current       End 2016          Pct Move
 Singapore         3326.52       2880.76           15.47
 Bangkok           1580.26       1542.94           2.40
 Manila            7932.82       6840.64           15.97
 Jakarta           5777.482      5296.711          9.08
 Kuala Lumpur      1774.53       1641.73           8.09
 Ho Chi Minh       788.68        664.87            18.62
 
 (Reporting by Sandhya Sampath; Editing by Vyas Mohan)