* Singapore enters bear market territory
* Philippines set for worst week since 1998
* Thailand, Indonesia trigger circuit breakers
By Sameer Manekar
March 13 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets sank on
Friday and were headed for their worst week in more than a
decade, as a rout in global equities deepened amid rising travel
restrictions and growing fears of a global recession due to the
coronavirus outbreak.
Sell-off gathered pace from Thursday after the World Health
Organization termed the outbreak a pandemic and U.S. President
Donald Trump restricted travel from Europe to contain the virus
spread. Broader Asian equities were also pounded after all three
U.S. indexes crashed overnight, ending their record bull run.
.N MKTS/GLOB
"It's a chain reaction, a vicious cycle," said Joel Ng, an
analyst at KGI Securities, adding that markets were coming to
terms with the possibility of a synchronised global recession.
"There are a lot of expectations that central banks and
governments would step in, however, the problem is that there is
an absence of global coordination, unlike in 2008," he added.
Thailand .SETI and Indonesian .JKSE shares fell 10% and
5%, respectively, at one point, triggering circuit breakers for
the second time in as many days.
Export-reliant Singapore shares .STI hit their lowest
since July 2009, entering bear market territory - down up to
23.5% since a Jan. 17 peak, and were on track for their worst
week since October 2008.
Financials and industrial sectors were the worst hit, with
DBS Group Holdings DBSM.SI and industrial conglomerate Jardine
Strategic Holdings JSH.SI losing as much as 6% and 10.2%,
respectively.
Thai shares were poised for a record weekly loss, losing
26.5%. Blue-chip firms PTT Pcl PTT.BK and Airports of Thailand
AOT.BK were down 8.7% and 10%, respectively.
Malaysian shares .KLSE marked their steepest drop since
March 2008 on Friday, losing nearly 7% to the lowest since
September 2011.
Heavyweight firms Malayan Banking MBBM.KL and electricity
generator Tenaga Nasional TENA.KL slipped 3.9% and 10.5%,
respectively.
Indonesian shares fell more than 5% and were set for their
biggest weekly drop since October 2008.
Philippine stocks .PSI plunged more than 11%, their most
since October 2008, and were headed for their biggest weekly
loss since 1998.
Meanwhile, the country's finance minister ordered state
pension funds to increase their daily investments to support the
stock market. Vietnam stocks .VNI slumped nearly 6%, hitting their
lowest since May 2017.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS as at 0345 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 2541.78 2678.64 -5.11
Bangkok 1005.43 1114.91 -9.82
Manila 5404.71 5736.27 -5.78
Jakarta 4644.319 4895.748 -5.14
Kuala Lumpur 1326.56 1419.43 -6.54
Ho Chi Minh 736.79 769.25 -4.22
Change so far in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2541.78 3222.83 -21.13
Bangkok 1005.43 1579.84 -36.36
Manila 5404.71 7,815.26 -30.84
Jakarta 4644.319 6,299.54 -26.28
Kuala Lumpur 1326.56 1588.76 -16.50
Ho Chi Minh 736.79 960.99 -23.33