SE Asia Stocks - Indonesia falls for 2nd day; U.S. jobs data in focus

BANGKOK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks fell for a

second straight session on Friday amid political concerns while

most other markets in Southeast Asia edged cautiously higher

ahead of a key U.S. jobs report.

Jakarta's composite index was down 1.3 percent at

4,937.81, the lowest since July 7, on track for a weekly loss of

3.8 percent.

The benchmark dropped 2.7 percent on Thursday on news that

Indonesia's opposition coalition had won the position of the

speaker of the legislature.

The news raised concerns that President-elect Joko Widodo

may not be able to muster enough support in parliament to push

through badly-needed reforms.

Among stocks that were hit, Bank Rakyat Indonesia

was down 2.7 percent while Bank Mandiri slipped 2.5

percent, with foreign investors net selling the stocks, Thomson

Reuters data showed.

Investors in Asia awaited the influential U.S. non-farm

payrolls report due later in the day. Analysts polled by Reuters

expect U.S. employers to have hired 215,000 workers in

September, up from a disappointing 142,000 in August.

The jobs data could hint at the direction of the U.S.

Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates after the European

Central Bank on Thursday failed to provide markets with a

specific stimulus program for the euro zone's recovery.

The market reaction to the lack of stimulus details would be

short-lived, brokers said.

"Markets will be disappointed on the ECB decision in only

this short term. The loosening ECB monetary policy will still

benefit over the long run," said strategists at broker Maybank

Kim Eng Securities in Bangkok.

Bangkok's SET index was down 0.6 percent at

1,560.76, an over two-week low, as investors cashed in on

recently rallying shares such as PTT. The index is set

to end the week 2.5 percent lower.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recouped early

losses and traded up 0.2 percent at 3,243.56, amid technical-led

buying. Shares of DBS Group Holdings and Singapore

Telecommunications led among gainers.

"A fall to support at 3,220 drew some bargain-hunting

interest today as the benchmark index managed a technical

rebound, probably helped by short-covering ahead of the

weekend," broker NRA Capital said in a report.

The index is on track for a weekly loss of 1.5 percent, a

third consecutive week.

Malaysia and the Philippines are both set to

end little changed on the week, with the Vietnam index at

a weekly gain of 1.4 percent.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0649 GMT

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

Singapore 3243.56 3228.71 +0.46

Kuala Lumpur 1842.05 1837.68 +0.24

Bangkok 1560.76 1569.73 -0.57

Jakarta 4937.81 5000.81 -1.26

Manila 7233.04 7196.26 +0.51

Ho Chi Minh 613.08 612.66 +0.07

(1 US dollar = 12,157.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Sunil Nair)