* Philippines down for eighth straight session
* Jollibee Foods slumps to near 2-year low
* Singapore, Thai shares top gainers
By Anushka Trivedi
July 25 (Reuters) - Philippine shares hit a two-week low on
Thursday, dragged by sharp losses in fast-food giant Jollibee
Foods Corp JFC.PS , while most other Southeast Asian markets
inched higher ahead of a key European Central Bank meeting later
in the day.
Jollibee declined as much as 8%, wiping out $850 million in
market value in two days after the country's largest food
service network operator said it was buying loss-making
U.S.-based Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
The sharp losses underlined investors scepticism over
Jollibee's foray into the U.S. market as hamburger chain
Smashburger Master's performance is expected to weigh on the
company's earnings, according to analysts. Jollibee acquired Smashburger last year. Shares of Jollibee,
which hit their lowest in nearly two years, have lost 12.1% in
the past eight sessions.
The benchmark Philippine stock index .PSI slipped as much
as 0.6% after a 1% drop in the previous session.
Among other Southeast Asian markets, Singapore .STI and
Thailand .SETI firmed 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, while
Indonesia .JKSE edged higher.
This comes as soft economic data cemented case for monetary
action by the ECB. The euro zone reported weaker-than-expected
data for business activity in July, with manufacturing and
foreign trade, considered the engine of recent economic growth,
contracting heavily. Adding to the sentiment is the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve
meeting, merely days after the ECB, where a quarter-point cut is
widely expected.
In Indonesia, telecom and financial stocks were among the
top gainers, with state-owned network services provider PT
Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) Tbk TLKM.JK and lender Bank
Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk PT BBRI.JK rising 0.7% each.
The country's planning ministry on Wednesday revealed plans
to lift its economic growth to an average of 6% annually during
President Joko Widodo's second term in office by attracting more
investment in the infrastructure sector. Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0421 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3376.88 3368.44 0.25
Bangkok 1729.19 1725.44 0.22
Manila 8158.94 8161.49 -0.03
Jakarta 6397.362 6384.987 0.19
Kuala Lumpur 1651.42 1652.41 -0.06
Ho Chi Minh 994.27 988.41 0.59
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3376.88 3068.76 10.04
Bangkok 1729.19 1563.88 10.57
Manila 8158.94 7,466.02 9.28
Jakarta 6397.362 6,194.50 3.27
Kuala Lumpur 1651.42 1690.58 -2.32
Ho Chi Minh 994.27 892.54 11.40