SE Asia Stocks-Mostly weak on Chinese growth concerns; Thai shares gain

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets eased

on Friday as disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and the

possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve further trimming its

bond buying next week hit sentiment.

The Jakarta Composite Index was 0.9 percent down by

midday led by financials, after hitting a near three-month high

in the previous session, having gained 1.9 percent in the four

straight sessions through Thursday.

The fall was partly caused by the correction in Wall Street

last night and the weakness of the rupiah, said John Teja,

director of Jakarta-based broker Ciptadana Securities.

"After rebounding since the beginning of January, the equity

market looks to be taking a pause and potentially moving

sideways for the time being," he added.

The rupiah slid as much as 0.7 percent in early trade.

Cautious investors are awaiting directions from the Fed,

which some market players expect to further trim its bond buying

next week even as Chinese manufacturing data pointed to a mild

slowdown in the new year.

Singapore eased 0.9 percent to a near five-week

low, heading for its biggest weekly loss in more than 3-1/2

months, with Keppel Corp falling 1.4 percent after

reporting a 26 percent fall in 2013 net profit.

Singapore shares have been the worst performers this week

followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Malaysia was down 0.3

percent, trading at a five-week low.

However, Thai shares bucked the trend, rising 0.5

percent after Bangkok returned to calm after weeks of political

unrest, extending the week's net gain to 1 percent, with foreign

investors buying into risky assets on a net basis on Thursday

for the first time this week.

The Philippine share index, the best performer for

the week, was up 0.4 percent, while Vietnam gained 0.9 percent

as investors expect the foreign holdings ceiling in some listed

firms to be raised soon.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0645 GMT

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

TR SE Asia Index* 384.20 385.41 -0.31

Singapore 3073.89 3100.24 -0.85

Kuala Lumpur 1802.98 1808.31 -0.29

Bangkok 1314.45 1308.34 +0.47

Jakarta 4454.73 4496.04 -0.92

Manila 6195.64 6170.05 +0.41

Ho Chi Minh 558.41 553.55 +0.88