* Philippines marks worst session in 3 weeks
* Indonesia hits lowest in over 2 weeks
* Financials, industrial sectors weigh on Singapore index
By Sameer Manekar
Jan 6 (Reuters) - Philippine stocks fell more than 1% on
Monday as soaring oil prices stoked fears of inflationary
pressure for the net oil importing nation, while other Southeast
Asian markets were also in the red due to heightened Middle East
tensions.
Oil prices shot more than 2% higher and Brent rose above $70
a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose
sanctions on Iraq and retaliate against Iran if it strikes back
after the killing of its top commander. O/R Trump's threat against Iraq, the second largest producer
among the OPEC, comes after its parliament voted in favour of
expelling U.S. troops. The Philippine benchmark index .PSI slipped as much as
1.8%. Real estate firm SM Prime Holdings SMPH.PS shed 1.3%,
while lender BDO Unibank BDO.PS lost 1.1%.
"The escalating tensions between the United States and Iran
will be a big factor on inflation in the Philippines. Since it
is a net oil importer, any significant oil rally would affect
both inflation and the currency," Rachelle Cruz, analyst at AP
Securities said.
"For stock markets, any weakness in the currency would be a
deterrent for foreign investors."
The Philippine peso PHP= weakened 0.2% against the dollar.
Malaysian shares .KLSE shed 0.9% as banking and consumer
stocks weighed.
Malayan Banking Bhd MBBM.KL fell 0.9% and Sime Darby
Plantations SIPL.KL 1.6%.
Indonesian equities .JKSE fell as much as 1.1%, their
biggest intraday fall in over a month.
Financials and consumer firms were the biggest drags, with
Bank Central Asia BBCA.JK and Bank Rakyat Indonesia BBRI.JK
losing 1% and 1.1%, while Unilever Indonesia UNVR.JK shed
1.2%.
An index of Jakarta's 45 most liquid stocks .JKLQ45 fell
as much as 1.5%.
Thai stocks .SETI fell the most since Dec. 16, with
Kasikornbank PCL KBANK.BK and Airports of Thailand AOT.BK
losing 3.6% and 1.7%.
Financial and industrial sectors weighed on Singapore's
benchmark index .STI .
Heavyweights United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI and Jardine
Strategic Holdings JSH.SI were down 0.8% and 1.2%,
respectively.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0341 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3221.87 3238.82 -0.52
Bangkok 1582.55 1594.97 -0.78
Manila 7732.82 7839.79 -1.36
Jakarta 6289.85 6323.466 -0.53
Kuala Lumpur 1596.38 1611.38 -0.93
Ho Chi Minh 959.09 965.14 -0.63
Change so far in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 3221.87 3222.83 -0.03
Bangkok 1582.55 1579.84 0.17
Manila 7732.82 7,815.26 -1.05
Jakarta 6289.85 6,299.54 -0.15
Kuala Lumpur 1596.38 1588.76 0.48
Ho Chi Minh 959.09 960.99 -0.20