* Philippines ends at a three-week low
* Singapore recovers most of its early losses
* Vietnam slips to over six-month low
By Sameer Manekar
Jan 8 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian equities slumped on
Wednesday, with Thailand taking the biggest hit, as investors
scurried from riskier assets due to rising tensions in the
Middle East after Iran fired rockets at U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
The Thai benchmark .SETI led declines in the region and
was down 1.6% - its lowest closing level in three weeks.
Financials and industrials were among the top drags on the
index, with Kasikornbank Pcl KBANK.BK and Airports of Thailand
AOT.BK losing 2.1% and 1%, respectively.
Iran fired more than a dozen missiles against at least two
Iraqi facilities hosting U.S.-led coalition personnel. However,
Iranian officials said Tehran did not want a war and its strikes
"concluded" its response to Friday's killing of its top general
by the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump said an assessment of casualties
and damage from the strikes was under way and tweeted "all is
well".
Singapore's benchmark index .STI recovered most of its
early losses to end marginally lower. It had fallen as much as
1.7% earlier in the session.
Most investors are not expecting the situation to worsen,
given that both the sides are facing pressure not to escalate
matters further, said Joel Ng, an analyst at KGI Securities.
"There are no reports yet of casualties on the American
side, and with President Trump tweeting "all is well", it seems
that it will be calmer now."
Heavyweights DBS Group Holdings DBSM.SI and Jardine
Matheson Holdings JARD.SI lost 1.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
The Malaysian index .KLSE ended at over a week low,
weighed down by financial and consumer sectors.
Public Bank PUBM.KL slipped 2.6%, while Sime Darby
Plantation SIPL.KL lost 0.9%.
Philippine bourse .PSI slipped to a three-week low,
dragged by losses in blue-chip stocks, with BDO Unibank BDO.PS
and industrial conglomerate JG Summit Holdings JGS.PS falling
1.9% and 2.8%.
Indonesian shares .JKSE ended at over a three-week low,
with Bank Mandiri (Persero) BMRI.JK losing 1.3%, while
state-owned telecom firm Telekomunikasi Indonesia TLKM.JK
ended 1% lower.
An index of Jakarta's 45 most liquid stocks .JKLQ45
slipped 0.9%.
Vietnam stocks .VNI ended at their lowest in over six
months, with Vinhomes JSC VHM.HM losing the most in real
estate sector.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3245.89 3247.86 -0.06
Bangkok 1559.27 1585.23 -1.64
Manila 7736.24 7840.7 -1.33
Jakarta 6225.686 6279.346 -0.85
Kuala Lumpur 1589.1 1611.04 -1.36
Ho Chi Minh 948.98 958.88 -1.03
Change so far in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 3245.89 3222.83 0.72
Bangkok 1559.27 1579.84 -1.30
Manila 7736.24 7,815.26 -1.01
Jakarta 6225.686 6,299.54 -1.17
Kuala Lumpur 1589.1 1588.76 0.02
Ho Chi Minh 948.98 960.99 -1.25