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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.

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"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.

For Asian Companies click;

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)