(Corrects spelling of coronavirus in headline)
* Indonesia leads fall, down over 3%
* Vietnam up for sixth session
By Arundhati Dutta
April 8 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets
closed lower on Wednesday as a mounting death toll from the
global coronavirus outbreak prompted investors to book profits
after sharp gains earlier this week.
The United States posted a record single-day jump of more
than 1,800 coronavirus deaths, while France has officially
registered more than 10,000 fatalities so far. The day's losses halted a rally in equities over the past
two sessions on early optimism that the virus could be peaking.
A fall in energy stocks pushed the Thai benchmark .SETI
0.8% lower on Wednesday, with PTT Pcl PTT.BK and PTT
Exploration and Production Pcl PTTEP.BK falling at least 4%
each.
Leading losses in the region, Indonesian equities .JKSE
slumped 3.2%, with financials weighing on the benchmark index.
PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk BMRI.JK and PT Bank Negara
Indonesia (Persero) Tbk BBNI.JK both fell 7%.
Beginning Friday, Indonesia's capital Jakarta will impose
large-scale social restrictions including closures of schools
and workplaces to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the
hardest hit area of the country. Singaporean stocks .STI shed 1.3%, with big cap
conglomerates Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd JARD.SI falling
3.8% and Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd JSH.SI slipping 1.5%.
The Malaysian index .KLSE fell 0.6%, dragged lower by
power utility Tenaga Nasional TENA.KL , down 2%.
Philippine equities .PSI ended 2.5% lower.
On the upside, Vietnamese shares .VNI recovered from early
losses and posted a sixth straight session of gains.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the
day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 2539.44 2571.89 -1.26
Bangkok 1205.77 1214.95 -0.76
Manila 5510.83 5650.01 -2.46
Jakarta 4626.695 4778.639 -3.18
Kuala Lumpur 1361.39 1369.92 -0.62
Ho Chi Minh 748.02 746.69 0.18
Change so far
in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2539.44 3222.83 -21.20
Bangkok 1205.77 1579.84 -23.68
Manila 5510.83 7,815.26 -29.49
Jakarta 4626.695 6,299.54 -26.56
Kuala Lumpur 1361.39 1588.76 -14.31
Ho Chi Minh 748.02 960.99 -22.16