SE Asia Stocks-Philippines falls as MSCI's China weighting boost raises outflow woes
* Philippine stocks hit near 2-month low
* Vietnam index poised for 1.5 pct weekly loss
* Singapore shares snap 3 straight sessions of losses
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
March 1 (Reuters) - Philippine shares fell the most across
Southeast Asian markets on Friday, after MSCI's announcement of
an increase in the weighting of Chinese mainland shares in
global benchmarks raised outflow worries in smaller markets.
But the Indonesian index rose on the back of gains in
consumer and telecom sectors.
Global index provider MSCI said on Thursday that it will
quadruple the proportion of Chinese mainland shares in its
global benchmarks later this year, potentially drawing more than
$80 billion of fresh foreign inflows into the world's second
largest economy.
The Philippine index dropped 1.4 percent to its
lowest level since Jan. 3, with broad-based losses.
MSCI's announcement would result in outflows from emerging
markets, such as the Philippines, into China, said Miguel Ong, a
research analyst at Manila-based AP Securities.
The Philippines, one of the largest emerging economies
across Asia, saw a combined net inflow of $535 million into its
equities in January and February, according to exchange data.
The Malaysian benchmark index dipped 0.5 percent,
with the utilities and consumer sector taking the biggest hit.
Electricity distributor Tenaga Nasional Bhd fell
2.8 percent and was one of the biggest drags on the index after
the company reported a quarterly net loss of 134.3 million
ringgit ($33.00 million), while Malaysia Airports Holdings
Bhd traded 0.7 percent lower.
The Thai index fell 0.3 percent, dragged by telecom
and material stocks.
Meanwhile, Indonesian shares gained 0.9 percent,
with conglomerate Astra International Tbk PT rising
2.8 percent and Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk
Perusahaan Perseroan PT advancing 1 percent.
The annual inflation rate in the region's largest economy
cooled more than expected to the lowest level in almost a
decade, near the lower end of the central bank's target range,
due to falling food prices.
Vietnam index pared previous session's losses to rise
0.9 percent higher, buoyed by financial and consumer stocks.
Real estate firm Vinhomes JSC and Vietnam Dairy
Products JSC added 2.3 percent and 0.6 percent,
respectively.
The index, which is the best performer in Southeast Asia
since the turn of the year, is, however, set to post a weekly
loss of 1.5 percent.
Singapore shares snapped three straight sessions of
losses on Friday as financials boosted the index, with lender
DBS Group Holdings Ltd scaling as much as 1.5 percent.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0452 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3226.44 3212.69 0.43
Bangkok 1648.35 1653.48 -0.31
Manila 7596.09 7705.49 -1.42
Jakarta 6498.984 6443.348 0.86
Kuala Lumpur 1698.69 1707.73 -0.53
Ho Chi Minh 974.15 965.47 0.90
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3226.44 3068.76 5.14
Bangkok 1648.35 1563.88 5.40
Manila 7596.09 7,466.02 1.74
Jakarta 6498.984 6,194.50 4.92
Kuala Lumpur 1698.69 1690.58 0.48
Ho Chi Minh 974.15 892.54 9.14
($1 = 4.0700 ringgit)
(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Additional
reporting by Niyati Shetty and Gaurav Dogra; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
