* China Feb factory activity contracts at record pace
* SATS top gainer on Singapore benchmark index
* Malaysian stocks near 8-year low
By Anushka Trivedi
March 2 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets
recovered from early losses on Monday, with Philippine shares
leading the pack, as hopes grew major central banks would roll
out stimulus measures to help cushion the economic fallout from
the coronavirus epidemic.
On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the
central bank would "act as appropriate" to support the economy,
raising hopes of a rate cut and chances that others would follow
suit. Meanwhile, a private survey showed factory activity in Asia
was largely subdued last month. However, "the scale of the falls was modest compared to the
weekend China prints. That appears to be alleviating some
pressure on local equity markets for now," said Jeffrey Halley,
a senior market analyst, OANDA.
China's factory activity contracted at the fastest pace ever
in February, but analysts at OCBC expect it to bounce back this
month as production resumes gradually. Philippine shares .PSI rose 0.9% after hitting their
lowest in nearly three years earlier in the session, with
financial and consumer stocks leading the recovery.
Indonesian shares .JKSE gained 0.5%, while an index of
Jakarta's 45 most liquid stocks .JKLQ45 was 0.6% higher.
Indonesia's central bank said on Monday it would do "triple
intervention" - its term for operations in the domestic
non-deliverable forward, spot foreign exchange and bond markets
- and that protocols to prevent a stock market collapse were in
place.
Singapore equities .STI inched higher, with SATS Ltd
SATS.SI leading the gains after the company announced the
acquisition of UK-based aviation food solutions company Monty's
Bakehouse. Among losers, Malaysian stocks .KSLE dropped 0.4% to their
lowest since December 2011, with marine port services provider
MISC Bhd MISC.KL and hospitality firm Genting Bhd GENT.KL
among biggest drags.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0420 GMT
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3023 3011.08 0.40
Bangkok 1323.31 1340.52 -1.28
Manila 6848.74 6787.91 0.90
Jakarta 5481.192 5452.704 0.52
Kuala Lumpur 1477.28 1482.64 -0.36
Ho Chi Minh 883.42 882.19 0.14
Change so far in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 3023 3222.83 -6.20
Bangkok 1323.31 1579.84 -16.24
Manila 6848.74 7,815.26 -12.37
Jakarta 5481.192 6,299.54 -12.99
Kuala Lumpur 1477.28 1588.76 -7.02
Ho Chi Minh 883.42 960.99 -8.07