* Banking, industrial stocks drag Singapore
* Philippines sees worst day in over a year
* Banking, real estate stocks drive gains in Vietnam
By Soumyajit Saha
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Singapore's benchmark index .STI fell
on Tuesday, tracking broader Asian markets, as a virus outbreak
in China took a toll on risk appetite, while Philippines was hit
by losses in the financial sector.
With millions travelling on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year
holiday, authorities in China confirmed the virus could spread
through human contact, while the World Health Organization met
to consider declaring an international health emergency.
"Concerns over the spread of the virus is the predominant
mover today," said Linus Loo, head of research at Lim & Tan
Securities.
"Unfortunately, it's coming at a bad time, just ahead of the
travel-heavy New Year week."
Losses in the banking and industrial sectors dragged down
Singapore shares, with real estate developer Capitaland Ltd
CATL.SI and conglomerate Jardine Strategic Holdings JSH.SI
down 1.8% and 1.5% respectively.
Philippine stocks .PSI dropped to their lowest close in
more than a year, hurt by heavy losses in the financial sector.
Conglomerate Ayala Corp AC.PS and real estate developer
Ayala Land ALI.PS fell 4.7% and 2.5%, respectively, while
lender Bank of the Philippine Islands BPI.PS was down 4.2%.
Regulatory scrutiny on certain projects related to the Ayala
group had led to "possible regulatory risks involved in private
sector's contracts with the government," AP Securities analyst
Rachelle Cruz said.
The Manila Times https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/01/19/news/headlines/duterte-to-review-lrt-contract-next/675652/#
on Sunday reported that President Rodrigo Duterte would review
a government rail transit contract with Ayala and Metro Pacific
Investment Corp MPI.PS . The newspaper https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/01/20/news/top-stories/palace-isnt-done-with-ayala-targets-technohub/675908
also reported on Monday that a presidential spokesperson had
hinted at investigations into an Ayala IT park.
Thai stocks .SETI were also lower, hurt by losses in the
industrial and financial sectors.
Real estate investor Asset World Corp AWC.BK fell 4.1%,
while airport operator Airports of Thailand PCL AOT.BK dropped
3%.
Gains in the financial sector helped lift Vietnam shares
.VNI .
Real estate developer Vinhomes JSC VHM.HM and lender Joint
Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam
BID.HM were up 1.7% and 1.3% respectively.
"The index is in a rebound trend after the year-end period
and recent favourable results, especially for banking sectors,
further support this trend," said Trung Le, an analyst at
Hanoi-based BIDV Securities Co.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 3247.17 3280.09 -1.00
Bangkok 1574.94 1589.11 -0.89
Manila 7466.65 7552.6 -1.14
Jakarta 6238.153 6245.043 -0.11
Kuala Lumpur 1587.33 1588.88 -0.10
Ho Chi Minh 986.37 978.63 0.79
Change so far in
2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 3247.17 3222.83 0.76
Bangkok 1574.94 1579.84 -0.31
Manila 7466.65 7,815.26 -4.46
Jakarta 6238.153 6,299.54 -0.97
Kuala Lumpur 1587.33 1588.76 -0.09
Ho Chi Minh 986.37 960.99 2.64