* U.S. March retail sales, factory output sink
* Pandemic to bring Asia's 2020 growth to halt-IMF
* Oil plunge hits Thai energy sector
By Arundhati Dutta
April 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on
Thursday, with Philippines shares losing as much as 4%, as
investor sentiment was hurt by dire economic data from the
United States and prospects of extensive damage to Asia as a
fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.
U.S. retail sales suffered their steepest drop on record
last month and output at factories declined by the most since
1946 - reinforcing fears that the economy contracted in the
first quarter at its sharpest pace in decades. Moreover, Asia's economic growth this year will grind to a
halt for the first time in 60 years, the International Monetary
Fund said on Thursday, as exporters are hit by declining demand
amid lockdowns throughout the region. Though softer data from the U.S. on the retail sales on the
industrial and retail fronts had been expected, the depth of the
disappointment shocked markets, according to a note by Jingyi
Pan, a market strategist at brokerage IG.
Leading the fall, the Philippine index .PSI slumped up to
4.3% in early trade. Heavyweight conglomerates Ayala Land
ALI.PS and SM Investments SM.PS shed 6.9% and 3.6%,
respectively.
The benchmark's steep fall was due to profit-taking and
tracking of U.S. markets, according to Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion,
chief economist at The Union Bank of the Philippines.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE shed as much as 2%, with
financials weighing on the index. PT Bank Central Asia Tbk
BBCA.JK slipped 2% while PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk
BMRI.JK lost 5.7%.
An overnight slump in oil prices pushed the energy-heavy
Thai index .SETI more than 1% lower. PTT Pcl PTT.BK and PTT
Exploration and Production Pcl PTTEP.BK lost around 3%, each.
Shares in Vietnam .VNI fell as much as 0.8%, with losses
led by financials. Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade
of Vietnam VCB.HM skid 1.6%.
Malaysian equities .KLSE slipped as much as 0.7%, while
Singaporean stocks .STI were slightly lower.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0340 GMT
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the
day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 2602.84 2605.56 -0.10
Bangkok 1224.98 1236.1 -0.90
Manila 5702.49 5946.05 -4.10
Jakarta 4527.977 4625.905 -2.12
Kuala Lumpur 1383.85 1387.79 -0.28
Ho Chi Minh 774.09 777.22 -0.40
Change so far
in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2602.84 3222.83 -19.24
Bangkok 1224.98 1579.84 -22.46
Manila 5702.49 7,815.26 -27.03
Jakarta 4527.977 6,299.54 -28.12
Kuala Lumpur 1383.85 1588.76 -12.90
Ho Chi Minh 774.09 960.99 -19.45