SE Asia Stocks-Mixed; Ukraine tension weighs

March 4 (Reuters) - Philippine and Malaysian stocks fell on

Tuesday as concerns over mounting tensions in Ukraine kept

investors on the sidelines despite positive data from the United

States.

Analysts said concerns that the West could impose sanctions

on Russia have dented investor sentiment.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that Russia

violated international law with its military intervention in

Ukraine and warned that his government would look at a series of

economic and diplomatic sanctions to isolate Moscow.

Financial data firm Markit's gauge of U.S. factory activity

rose in February to its highest level since May 2010.

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management said its index

of U.S. factory activity rose to 53.2 in February, topping

expectations. Personal spending in January grew despite the

harsh winter weather.

Malaysia's main share index was down 0.2 percent,

led by financials with CIMB Group Holdings losing 1.1

percent by midday.

Philippine stocks were weaker 0.2 percent, while

Vietnam's benchmark VN Index was down 0.3 percent as

retail investors sold shares to reduce their high debt-to-equity

ratio due to margin trading.

Bucking the trend, Thailand's SET index gained for a

sixth day, up 0.5 percent on expectation of easing political

tension, a day after foreign investors bought a net $35.17

million worth risky assets.

Foreign investors have offloaded a net $3.9 billion worth of

Thai shares since November through Friday due to the political

turmoil, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Sentiment has improved after anti-government protesters

retreated to a central Bangkok park, freeing up traffic after

blocking big intersections for more than a month in their bid to

push out Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Shares of Airports of Thailand were up 2.8 percent

by midday after a 3.2 percent rise on Monday. The airport

operator could benefit from easing political situation in

Bangkok.

In Singapore, the index was up 0.7 percent on

bargain-hunting in blue chips, led by a 1.1 percent gain in

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.

The Jakarta Composite Index was higher 0.1 percent,

a day after the Southeast Asia's largest economy said trade

balance tipped into deficit in January, rekindling concerns over

its large current-account deficit just when it had started to

narrow.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0658 GMT

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

TR SE Asia Index* 397.38 396.39 +0.25

Singapore 3109.51 3087.47 +0.71

Kuala Lumpur 1821.71 1824.69 -0.16

Bangkok 1345.23 1339.21 +0.45

Jakarta 4589.84 4584.21 +0.12

Manila 6397.28 6407.52 -0.16

Ho Chi Minh 571.83 573.38 -0.27

* The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a

highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,

Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.