SE Asia Stocks -Philippines, Malaysia underperform in region

BANGKOK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Stocks in the Philippines fell

for a second straight day on Wednesday as investors awaited the

central bank decision on policy interest rate while Malaysian

index hit the lowest close in more than a week ahead of

fourth-quarter GDP growth data.

The Philippine main index finished down 0.5 percent

after an almost 1 percent drop on the previous day.

Interest rate-sensitive stocks were mixed, with property

firm Ayala Land up 0.6 percent and Metropolitan Bank &

Trust down 2 percent, as the Bangko Sentral ng

Pilipinas is expected to leave rates unchanged on Thursday.

Kuala Lumpur composite index ended the day down 0.7

percent at 1,798.95, the lowest close since Jan. 30, due to

losses in energy shares. Tenaga Nasional and

Sapurakencana Petroleum each dropped 3 percent.

Sluggish global demand for its exports and weak commodity

prices are expected to have dragged Malaysia's economic growth

in the fourth quarter of 2014 to its weakest pace in more than a

year. The GDP data is due on Thursday.

Other markets eked out gains amid selective buying in a

reporting season while Asian stock markets turned cautious on

Wednesday as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek

debt crisis threatened to produce more confusion than clarity.

Thai SET index snapped two sessions of losses,

Jakarta composite index recovered from Tuesday's fall,

Singapore's Straits Times Index hit the highest close

since May 2013 and Vietnam ended at a near two-week high.

In Jakarta, shares of PT Bank Mandiri Tbk climbed

1.1 percent to a record closing high of 11,750 rupiah. The

bank's Chief Financial Officer told Reuters its 2014 net profit

rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change on day

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

Singapore 3444.57 3434.24 +0.30

Kuala Lumpur 1798.95 1811.12 -0.67

Bangkok 1605.11 1594.96 +0.64

Jakarta 5336.52 5321.47 +0.28

Manila 7686.43 7723.14 -0.48

Ho Chi Minh 581.76 574.52 +1.26

Change on year

Market Current End 2014 Pct Move

Singapore 3444.57 3365.15 +2.36

Kuala Lumpur 1798.95 1761.25 +2.14

Bangkok 1605.11 1497.67 +7.17

Jakarta 5336.52 5226.95 +2.10

Manila 7686.43 7230.57 +6.30

Ho Chi Minh 581.76 545.63 +6.62

(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Additional reporting by Erik

dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)