SE Asia Stocks -Most fall; tourism shares weak after Bangkok bombing

BANGKOK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock

markets fell on Monday as investors sold recent gainers, pulling

the Philippine benchmark off its record close in the previous

session, while Thai tourism stocks underperformed after small

bombs hit a central shopping mall.

The Thai SET index was down 0.6 percent, on course

for a third straight session of fall.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered security to be

tightened in Bangkok on Monday after two small bombs rattled a

luxury shopping mall and stoked tension in a city under martial

law since a coup in May.

"Local politics is also back in spotlight after the

explosion of improvised time-bombs in the CBD of Bangkok Sunday

evening. Volatility would continue to reign in the Thai stock

market, in our view," Phillip Securities said in a report.

Thai tourism-related stocks such as hotelier Minor

International and airports operator Airports of

Thailand were among the underperformers. Brokers said

bomb explosions in central Bangkok late on Sunday dented

sentiment.

Asian sentiment was broadly weak after the latest gauge of

China's factory sector activity raised concerns about the

world's second-largest economy.

The Philippine composite index slipped almost 1

percent to 7,614.98, after hitting a record closing high of

7,689.91 in the previous session. Among the losers, shares of SM

Investments Corp dropped 2 percent after a 6.2 percent

gain last week.

The loss on Monday pulled the 14-day Relative Strength Index

(RSI) to the 62.7 level versus Friday's 69.2, near an overbought

mark of 70 or above.

In Jakarta, the main index eased 0.4 percent,

reversing the previous session's gains. Vietnam's index

was a tad lower as investors were cautious after a circular

capping banks' loans for stock investment came into effect.

Bargain hunting emerged in energy-related shares across

exchanges, with the Philippines' top oil refiner Petron Corp

up 2 percent and Thailand's energy explorer PTT

Exploration and Production up 3.2 percent.

In Singapore, shares of Semcorp Marine and Noble

Group each gained more than 1 percent, sending the key

Straits Times Index 0.5 percent higher, bucking the

trend.

Malaysia is closed on Monday and Tuesday for public

holidays.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0601 GMT

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

Singapore 3405.85 3391.20 +0.43

Bangkok 1572.52 1581.25 -0.55

Jakarta 5267.73 5289.40 -0.41

Manila 7614.98 7689.91 -0.97

Ho Chi Minh 575.90 576.07 -0.03

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)