* South Korea takes steps to detect infections
* Singapore snaps three straight sessions of losses
* Consumer, resources shares weigh on Indonesia
By Soumyajit Saha
Feb 25 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended
marginally higher on Tuesday after a selloff in the previous
session, even as concerns over the rapid spread of the
coronavirus remained.
Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan and Iraq reported their
first cases, while South Korea, which has the most virus cases
outside China, said it aims to test more than 200,000 members of
a church at the centre of a surge in the infections.
"I don't think this (rise in markets) has got any
longevity," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"It's what I call a dead cat bounce... that I think will run
out of steam very quickly against the bigger global backdrop."
Indonesia was an exception, with the benchmark index .JKSE
closing at its lowest in over 15 months weighed down by losses
in the consumer and resources sector.
Chemicals maker Chandra Asri Petrochemical TPIA.JK fell
9.5%, while cigarette maker Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna HMSP.JK
dropped 2.4%.
Malaysian shares .KLSE , which closed at an over
eight-year low on Monday amid political turmoil, ended 0.7%
higher, helped by gains in the banking and healthcare sectors.
Lender Malayan Banking MBBM.KL rose 1% and hospitals
operator IHH Healthcare IHHH.KL gained 1.6%.
Singapore stocks .STI snapped three straight sessions of
losses, helped by gains in benchmark heavyweights
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp OCBC.SI and Capitaland Ltd
CATL.SI .
Thai stocks .SETI ended slightly higher, recovering from
an over three-year low hit earlier in the session.
"The Thai market is very volatile today, with news from
external fronts being followed. Going ahead, I think a lot
depends on the developments in the COVID-19 outbreak," said
Teerada Charnyingyong, an analyst with Phillip Capital Thailand.
The Philippine bourse was closed on account of a public
holiday.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 3158.24 3142.2 0.51
Bangkok 1439.1 1435.56 0.25
Jakarta 5787.138 5807.05 -0.34
Kuala Lumpur 1500.88 1490.06 0.73
Ho Chi Minh 909.67 903.34 0.70
Change so far in
2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 3158.24 3222.83 -2.00
Bangkok 1439.1 1579.84 -8.91
Manila 7187.44 7,815.26 -8.03
Jakarta 5787.138 6,299.54 -8.13
Kuala Lumpur 1500.88 1588.76 -5.53
Ho Chi Minh 909.67 960.99 -5.34