SE Asia Stocks-Subdued; U.S. rate hike fears prompt risk aversion
* Asian shares ex-Japan fall 0.3 pct after Wall St slide
* Singapore falls as much as 1 pct, Philippines slips 0.5
pct
* Philippine cbank raises expectations of interest rate hike
By Aditya Soni
March 1 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets were
subdued on Thursday as Wall Street's slide overnight and revived
fears of a rise in U.S. interest rates dented risk appetite.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's Tuesday remarks,
which rekindled fears of more rate increases than expected this
year, continued to weigh on equities, with MSCI's broadest index
of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipping 0.3
percent.
"Waves of risk aversion are running through investors heads
as they prepare for round two of Jay Powell's testimony probably
hoping that he dials back on some of those hawkish overtones he
delivered to Congress on Tuesday," Stephen Innes, head of
trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda said in a note.
Singapore shares fell as much as 1 percent to their
lowest in more than a week, dragged mainly by industrials.
Conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd dipped
1.5 percent, while DBS Group Holdings Ltd slipped 0.7
percent.
Philippines shares declined as much as 0.5 percent,
after the Philippine central bank's inflation forecast raised
expectations of an increase in its key interest rate.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipina said on Wednesday annual
inflation could breach the official target in February, possibly
quickening to a more than three-year high of 4.8 percent.
Inflation breaching the 4 percent mark definitely increases
the odds of a rate hike, said Fio De Jesus, an equity research
analyst with RCBC Securities in Manila.
Industrials and financials lead the decliners, with JG
Summit Holdings Inc falling 4.4 percent to a near
three-month low, while BDO Unibank Inc slid 1.5
percent.
Vietnam shares fell slightly, led by a decline in
Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp, which dipped 2.2
percent.
Meanwhile, Indonesian shares climbed 0.3 percent
after data showed that manufacturing activity expanded in
February at the fastest pace since June 2016.
Consumer Staples and telecommunications services stocks were
the biggest gainers, with PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia
rising 1.3 percent, while Astra International Tbk PT
ticked up 0.9 percent.
Malaysian shares also rose slightly, with lender
CIMB Group Holdings climbing 1.3 percent, accounting
for most of the gains.
The Thai stock market was closed on account of a
public holiday.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS : Change at 0348 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3505.44 3517.94 -0.36
Manila 8434.86 8475.29 -0.48
Jakarta 6614.182 6597.218 0.26
Kuala Lumpur 1858.25 1856.2 0.11
Ho Chi Minh 1122.66 1121.54 -0.1
Change on year
Market Current End prev yr Pct Move
Singapore 3505.44 3402.92 3.01
Manila 8434.86 8,558.42 -1.44
Jakarta 6614.182 6,355.65 4.07
Kuala Lumpur 1858.25 1796.81 3.42
Ho Chi Minh 1120.86 984.24 14.06
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha
Gayathri)