* Philippines, Indonesia at lowest close in two weeks
* Jollibee Foods top drag on Philippine benchmark
* Singapore reverses course to end lower
By Anushka Trivedi
July 24 (Reuters) - Philippine shares closed at a two-week
low on Wednesday as investors booked profits in financial
stocks, while most Southeast Asian markets ended lower.
The country's biggest banks BDO Unibank Inc BDO.PS , Bank
of the Philippine Islands BPI.PS and Metropolitan Bank and
Trust Co MBT.PS lost between 0.7% and 2.3%.
"I think this is more of a profit-taking for the banking
sectors as the rally in the last couple of trading days were led
by rally from the banks" said Miguel Ong, a research analyst
with AP Securities.
Jollibee Foods Inc JFC.PS fell 8% to its lowest close in
over nine months and was the worst performer on the benchmark.
The stock was sold heavily after the Asian fast-food giant
said it would to acquire U.S. brand Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for
$100 million to continue its push for an expansion outside its
home market. "A lot of foreign investors are iffy regarding the
acquisition, since the acquisition of Smashburger in 2015 has
not resulted in better earnings for Jollibee," Rachel Cruz, a
research analyst with AP Securities said.
Meanwhile, cautious investors pulled money from other
Southeast Asian markets ahead of the European Central Bank's
meeting on Thursday, and the U.S. Federal Reserve's
much-anticipated policy decision the following week.
"There is more potential for downside risk rather than
upside risk. So I think investors are seeing this as little bit
more of an opportunity to take profit rather than a long-term
investment opportunity" said Taye Shim, head of research, Mirae
Asset Sekuritas.
Indonesia's benchmark .JKSE fell to a two-week trough with
growth concerns weighing on the sentiment.
With Bank Indonesia slashing interest-rates recently,
Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy's second-quarter GDP is
expected to be "pretty much at a higher risk of disappointment
rather than a positive surprise", Shim added.
Singapore .STI and Malaysian shares ended the session
slightly lower.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3368.44 3373.13 -0.14
Bangkok 1725.44 1724.87 0.03
Manila 8161.49 8251.46 -1.09
Jakarta 6384.987 6403.81 -0.29
Kuala Lumpur 1652.41 1655.67 -0.20
Ho Chi Minh 988.41 989.46 -0.11
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3368.44 3068.76 9.77
Bangkok 1725.44 1563.88 10.33
Manila 8161.49 7,466.02 9.32
Jakarta 6384.987 6,194.50 3.08
Kuala Lumpur 1652.41 1690.58 -2.26
Ho Chi Minh 988.41 892.54 10.74