SE Asia Stocks - Indonesia weak amid fuel price concerns; Thai index eases

BANGKOK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares extended

losses to an over-one-week low on Tuesday as investors weighed

in the risk of changes to the government's fuel subsidy, while

profit-taking pulled the Thai benchmark off the previous

session's highs.

Jakarta's composite index fell for a third day,

trading down 0.4 percent at its lowest since Aug. 18. Banking

and cement stocks, including Bank Rakyat Indonesia and

Indocement, were among those actively traded.

The market was concerned about domestic fuel prices as

president-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is likely to meet with

current president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday to

discuss a fuel subsidy plan, brokers said.

"The news of a possible fuel price hike triggered

profit-taking on concerns of a short-term spike in inflation,"

said Andri Zakarias, an analyst with BNI Securities.

"There are reports of Joko Widodo meeting president

Yudhoyono tomorrow and the market has heard comments about the

incoming government wanting the fuel increase to happen before

it takes office in October," Andri said.

Thai key SET index was flat near midday. Shares of

airport operator Airports of Thailand fell almost 1

percent after Monday's rally to a record high, that helped bring

the SET to a near-15-month high in the previous session.

Shares of builder Italian Thai Development rose 3

percent in strong volume as the new government's infrastructure

spending plan lifted the prospects of the domestic construction

industry, brokers said.

"The 2.4-trillion-baht worth of mega infrastructure projects

waiting to be implemented will be the key factor to drive

economic growth from next year onward, which will also provide a

boost to foreign investor confidence," said Krungsri Securities.

Shares in Singapore, Malaysia and the

Philippines were little changed, in line with other Asian

stock markets.

Investors in Asia increasingly expect the European Central

Bank to expand liquidity as early as next week to boost the

sagging euro zone economy - just as the U.S. Federal Reserve

plans to end its bond-buying drive.

In Vietnam, the benchmark VN Index was up 0.62

percent, lifted by property firm Vingroup that surged

on its ex-rights date.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0517 GMT

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

TR SE Asia Index* 445.16 445.28 -0.03

Singapore 3328.40 3330.28 -0.06

Kuala Lumpur 1862.36 1862.31 0.00

Bangkok 1563.21 1563.13 +0.01

Jakarta 5163.44 5184.96 -0.41

Manila 7134.22 7133.09 +0.02

Ho Chi Minh 629.74 625.88 +0.62

* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a

highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,

Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Additional reporting by

Fransiska Nangoy in JAKARTA; Editing by Sunil Nair)