SE Asia Stocks-Philippines extends losses; Indonesia rebounds

By Nikhil Nainan

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Philippine shares fell sharply on Monday,

extending last week's losses, while Indonesia bounced back from

a selloff in the previous session.

Philippine shares tumbled more than 1 percent to a

near 12-week low as the passage of a tax bill in the U.S. Senate

aided foreign outflows.

The U.S. Senate approved a tax overhaul on Saturday, moving

Republicans and President Donald Trump a big step closer to

their goal of slashing taxes for businesses and the rich. The

move could further boost corporate profits and lead to a slew of

share buy-backs.

"I think because of the recent optimism of the tax reform,

you see a temporary allocation of funds which used to be in the

Philippine market and other emerging markets going back to the

U.S.," said Fio Dejesus, an analyst with RCBC Securities in

Manila.

Foreign investors sold equities net worth 190.5 million

pesos ($3.8 million) in the previous session.

Financials and real estate stocks led the losses on Monday,

with BDO Unibank Inc and SM Prime Holdings Inc

falling 2.4 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Indonesian stocks surged 1 percent,

having retreated 1.8 percent on Thursday, driven by strong gains

in financials and consumer discretionary stocks.

"On Thursday, foreigners net sold about 2 trillion rupiah

($147.9 million), regardless of the MSCI rebalance," said Taye

Shim, head of research at Mirae Asset Sekuritas, Indonesia.

"I think the fundamentals of Indonesia still remains intact

and we are still very optimistic on Indonesian equities."

The benchmark index has climbed more than 13 percent so far

this year.

Indonesia's headline inflation slowed in November, while

manufacturing activity expanded marginally, data showed.

Bank Central Asia Tbk PT and Astra International

Tbk PT rose 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Malaysian stocks slipped 0.4 percent, while data

showed the country's factory activity in November was the

strongest in 3-1/2 years, lifted by new orders.

Singapore shares fell 0.3 percent, weighed down by

financials and industrial stocks, with lenders United Overseas

Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp

leading the losses.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: CHANGE AT 0413 GMT

Change at 0413 GMT

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3438.28 3449.54 -0.33

Bangkok 1700.86 1699.65 0.07

Manila 8060.74 8144.02 -1.02

Jakarta 6006.387 5952.138 0.91

Kuala Lumpur 1710.92 1717.86 -0.40

Ho Chi Minh 970.39 960.33 1.05

Change so far this year

Market Current End 2016 Pct Move

Singapore 3438.28 2880.76 19.35

Bangkok 1700.86 1542.94 10.24

Manila 8060.74 6840.64 17.84

Jakarta 6006.387 5296.711 13.40

Kuala Lumpur 1710.92 1641.73 4.21

Ho Chi Minh 970.39 664.87 45.95

($1 = 13,525.0000 rupiah)

($1 = 50.5350 Philippine pesos)

(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan; Editing by Amrutha

Gayathri)