* Indonesia posts biggest weekly loss since April 2018
* Philippines snaps five straight sessions of declines
By Nikhil Subba
May 17 (Reuters) - Philippine shares jumped about 1.5% on
Friday, the most in about two-and-a-half months, as the central
bank pledged to ease liquidity norms to boost growth, while
Indonesian stocks fell to their lowest in more than six months
on worries over financing.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said after market hours on
Thursday that it would cut the amount of cash that banks must
hold as reserves in three steps to help boost liquidity as
economic growth slows. Investors cheered the central bank's announcement and bought
heavily, helping the benchmark stock index .PSI snap five
straight sessions of losses.
However, the rally was not enough to pull the benchmark
index out of the red for the week. The index lost 2% for the
week in its second straight weekly drop.
Indonesian stocks closed 1.2% lower after the central bank
warned that liquidity in the banking system was "heading toward
tightness" and financing might become an issue. The key Jakarta stock index .JKSE fell 6.2% this week in
its biggest drop since late April 2018.
Singapore shares .STI fell 0.6%, dragged by financial and
oil stocks, and posted their second consecutive weekly loss.
Data released on Friday showed that exports in April fell
more than expected, highlighting a continued slowdown in
manufacturing and GDP growth in the current quarter. Thai shares .SETI closed about 0.5% lower, weighed down by
technology stocks, after a Reuters poll showed that the annual
pace of first-quarter economic growth likely was the weakest for
any quarter in almost four years. Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on day
Market Current Previous Close Pct Move
Singapore 3205.46 3230.26 -0.77
Bangkok 1608.11 1614.75 -0.41
Manila 7583.82 7475.16 1.45
Jakarta 5826.868 5895.738 -1.17
Kuala Lumpur 1605.36 1599.19 0.39
Ho Chi Minh 976.48 975.69 0.08
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3205.46 3068.76 4.45
Bangkok 1608.11 1563.88 2.83
Manila 7583.82 8558.42 -11.39
Jakarta 5826.868 6194.498 -5.93
Kuala Lumpur 1605.36 1690.58 -5.04
Ho Chi Minh 976.48 984.24 -0.79