* Most markets close lower for the week
* Philippines slides for fourth straight session
* Thai shares slump to 3-week low after weak Aug export data
By Anushka Trivedi
Sept 20 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell
on Friday, with Philippines declining for a fourth straight
session, as fears of an escalation in the Middle East tension
gathered pace.
The markets were volatile all week, after the United States
blamed Tehran for the attack on Saudi oil facilities over the
weekend and said it was "locked and loaded" for a potential
response. "There is fear of further tensions in the Middle East.
That's why emerging markets such as the Philippines have been
suffering due to hot money outflows. So, the funds are going
back to safe-haven assets," Rachel Cruz, research analyst at AP
Securities said.
The Philippine benchmark index .PSI was in the red for a
fourth straight session, bogged down by financials.
Index heavyweights SM Prime Holdings SMPH.PS and Ayala
Land Inc ALI.PS dropped 2% and 2.2%, respectively, whereas the
benchmark shed 1.5% for the week.
Vietnam shares .VNI slipped 0.7% on weakness in financial
stocks, while adding 0.3% for the week to be the only gainer in
the region.
The Thai bourse .SETI skidded to a three-week low after
data showed a 4% slump in exports for August. The decline was
bigger than a Reuters forecast of a 2% fall in shipments, the
main driver of Thai growth. Among top losers were industrial and financial stocks, while
the index lost 1.6% for the week.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE fell for a second session with
financial and consumer sectors dominating losses and logged a
1.6% fall this week.
The country's central bank eased interest rates on Thursday
and relaxed lending rules in a bid to revive the sluggish
economy, but the move failed to lift sentiment as fears of
waning growth kicked in. The bank's governor indicated that the economy is weaker
than expected, with analysts at ANZ seeing the effectiveness of
monetary policy in bolstering growth to be quite limited.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3159.68 3158.8 0.03
Bangkok 1636.2 1640.66 -0.27
Manila 7871.11 7911.32 -0.51
Jakarta 6231.473 6244.47 -0.21
Kuala Lumpur 1597.41 1596.28 0.07
Ho Chi Minh 990.36 997.1 -0.68
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3159.68 3068.76 2.96
Bangkok 1636.2 1563.88 4.62
Manila 7871.11 7,466.02 5.43
Jakarta 6231.473 6,194.50 0.60
Kuala Lumpur 1597.41 1690.58 -5.51
Ho Chi Minh 990.36 892.54 10.96