SE Asia Stocks-Down; Indonesia falls on cigarette tax hike concerns

By Anusha Ravindranath

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks ended lower on

Friday with Indonesia posting its biggest intraday percentage

loss in over two weeks as the announcement of a tax hike on

cigarettes weighed on tobacco companies.

Indonesia's finance minister on Friday said the government

would raise the excise tax on cigarettes by an average of 10.5

percent next year, and also intensify its crackdown on the

illegal circulation of cigarettes.

The Jakarta Composite Index ended down 1.24 percent,

led by falls in major cigarette makers PT Hanjaya Mandala

Sampoerna Tbk and PT Gudang Garam Tbk. The

index fell 0.45 percent on the week.

A decline in oil prices and concerns over German lender

Deutsche Bank spooked investors in regional markets, with

financial and energy stocks losing ground.

Singapore shares finished lower, but gained 0.44

percent on the week. Blue-chips Singapore Telecommunications Ltd

and Singapore Airlines Ltd were among the

top losers on the index.

A weak peso pushed down Philippine stocks, which

closed over 1 percent lower led by losses in telecom and

consumer non-cyclicals. The index also posted its biggest

quarterly percentage loss in a year.

The Philippine peso in September saw its steepest monthly

drop in 16 years as concerns grew that President Duterte's

policies may keep driving foreign investors out of the country.

"Investors are concerned about this headline-grabbing

rhetoric from the president. They are looking for buzz words

like growth and economic development," said Victor Felix, an

analyst with AB Capital Securities in Manila.

"I project that this weakness in the peso will continue," he

added.

Malaysian stocks closed 1 percent lower, dragged

down by financials and consumer cyclicals, while Vietnam snapped

a nine-day winning streak to end down 0.41 percent, but gained

1.7 percent on the week.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

STOCK MARKETS

Change on the

day

Market Current previous Pct Move

close

Singapore 2869.47 2885.71 -0.56

Bangkok 1483.21 1491.43 -0.55

Manila 7629.73 7714.86 -1.10

Jakarta 5364.804 5431.957 -1.24

Kuala Lumpur 1652.55 1669.64 -1.02

Ho Chi Minh 685.73 688.55 -0.41

Change so far

this year

Market Current End prev yr Pct Move

Singapore 2869.47 2882.73 -0.46

Bangkok 1483.21 1288.02 15.15

Manila 7629.73 6952.08 9.75

Jakarta 5364.804 4593.008 16.80

Kuala Lumpur 1652.55 1692.51 -2.36

Ho Chi Minh 685.73 579.03 18.43

(Reporting Anusha Ravindranath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil

Nair)