SE Asia Stocks-Vietnam slides; Indonesia marks new closing high
* Vietnam slips on profit-booking as oil slides
* Banks pull down Singapore, Philippine indexes
By Devika Syamnath
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Vietnamese stocks posted their biggest
loss in well over a year on Wednesday and Indonesia marked a new
closing high for a second session while others in the region
were largely muted.
Earlier in the day, Asian equities retreated from record
highs as the region's resource shares were pummelled by falling
oil and commodity prices.
"The minor decline in Wall Street has spurred some selling
pressure in regional markets," said Manny Cruz, an analyst at
Asiasec Equities Inc.
The Vietnam index ended 2.7 percent lower, its
biggest fall since November 2016, as investors locked in gains
following weak oil prices.
Oil and gas shares have been leading the market recently,
but after Brent fell overnight, investors decided to take
profits before any other risks arose, said Nyugen The Minh, a
research manager at Viet Capital Securities.
A high level of margin trading in blue-chips also triggered
strong selling, Minh added.
Energy and utilities led the fall, with PetroVietnam Gas
down 3.5 percent while Vietnam National Petroleum
slumped 5.3 percent.
Vietnam's biggest corruption trial for years drew to a close
as former PetroVietnam executives on trial used their final
statement in court to apologise to the ruling Communist Party,
media said.
Singapore closed 0.2 percent lower, dragged by top
lenders United Overseas Bank and DBS Group,
down 0.5 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
The Philippine index snapped a three-session gaining
streak as financials and real estate fell. Metropolitan Bank and
Trust was the biggest loser, falling nearly 8 percent.
Among the gainers, Indonesia rose 0.2 percent to
6,444.51, buoyed by utility and material stocks.
Perusahaan Gas Negara soared 25.5 percent to notch
a six-month high while cement maker Semen Indonesia
added 7.3 percent to close at levels not seen since August 2016.
Thai shares closed 0.4 percent higher on gains in
real estate and energy stocks.
Oil and gas firm PTT PCL ended 0.4 percent firmer
while Land and Houses PCL gained 7.2 percent.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 3541.91 3550.21 -0.23
Bangkok 1828.88 1821.83 0.39
Manila 8848.99 8865.13 -0.18
Jakarta 6444.51 6429.69 0.23
Kuala Lumpur 1828.63 1826.03 0.14
Ho Chi Minh 1034.69 1062.96 -2.66
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3541.91 3402.92 4.08
Bangkok 1826.8 1753.71 4.17
Manila 8848.99 8558.42 3.40
Jakarta 6444.51 6355.65 1.40
Kuala Lumpur 1828.63 1796.81 1.77
Ho Chi Minh 1034.69 984.24 5.13
(Reporting by Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru; Additional
reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sunil Nair)