SE Asia Stocks-Most slip ahead of Fed decision; Vietnam up

* U.S. Fed rate decision due on March 21

* Philippines recovers from early falls

* Vietnam rises for 6th straight session

By Aaron Saldanha

March 19 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets

edged lower on Monday, in line with broader Asia, as caution

gripped investors ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day

policy meeting that starts on Tuesday.

With a 25 basis point rate hike seen as a done deal, a key

focus is on whether Fed policymakers forecast four rate hikes

this year in their "dot plot" projections, instead of three they

projected at a December meeting.

"As far as equities go, I think people will be a bit more

risk-off if there are more rate hikes than expected," said Fio

Dejesus, an equity research analyst with RCBC Securities.

Thai shares were the biggest losers in Southeast

Asia, hurt by weakness in energy stocks. Oil and gas firm PTT

Pcl dropped 2.2 percent.

Singapore shares fell for a fourth straight session,

with financials among the top losers. Lender Oversea-Chinese

Banking Corp Ltd declined 0.9 percent, while DBS Group

Holdings Ltd slipped 0.6 percent.

Indonesian shares slipped, weighed down by consumer

discretionary and materials stocks.

Astra International Tbk PT fell 2.4 percent to its

lowest close July 2016.

An index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks

slipped 0.1 percent.

Philippine shares recovered from early falls to close

marginally lower with financial and consumer discretionary

stocks leading the recovery. Ayala Corp ended 2 percent

higher.

"You have to take into account that the Philippines has

already been correcting for the past two weeks, so perhaps the

valuations are now better than they have been recently," said

Dejesus.

The benchmark stock index has declined 3.8 percent

year-to-date after gaining about 25 percent in 2017.

Malaysian shares closed slightly higher, helped by

gains in financials and telecom services stocks. Public Bank Bhd

gained 0.4 percent.

Vietnam shares rose for a sixth straight session,

helped by real estate stocks and industrials, and posted their

highest close since March 2007.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: Change on day

Market Current Previous close Pct

Move

Singapore 3498.29 3512.14 -0.39

Bangkok 1799.79 1811.76 -0.66

Manila 8235.54 8238.15 -0.03

Jakarta 6289.572 6304.952 -0.24

Kuala Lumpur 1847.94 1846.39 0.08

Ho Chi Minh 1159.22 1150.19 0.79

Change so far in 2018

Market Current End 2017 Pct

Move

Singapore 3498.29 3402.92 2.80

Bangkok 1799.79 1753.71 2.63

Manila 8235.54 8558.42 -3.77

Jakarta 6289.572 6355.654 -1.04

Kuala Lumpur 1847.94 1796.81 2.85

Ho Chi Minh 1159.22 984.24 17.78

(Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru; Editing by

Subhranshu Sahu)