SE Asia Stocks-Mostly Down; Manila, S'pore Underperform Ahea

Reuters.com - Most Southeast Asian markets ended weaker
on Thursday with Philippines and Singapore underperforming the
region as fears over a possible reduction in the U.S. Federal
Reserve's stimulus dented the sentiment, a day ahead of U.S. job
data.
    The Philippines' main stock index fell 1.2 percent to
a more than one-week low, Singapore's Straits Times Index
 lost 1.2 percent to a near three-month low, and    
Jakarta's Composite Index ended down 0.6 percent to its
lowest since Sept. 9.
    Analysts said investors were waiting for more clarity from
U.S. employment data on Friday after unexpectedly strong U.S.
factory activity data released last week has renewed the
possibility of the U.S. Fed starting to taper its asset buying
programme sooner than expected. 
    Many analysts expect the Fed to take a decision on reducing
its latest bond purchases, at its March meeting, but some think
that could be brought forward to January, or at the extreme,
later this month, if the employment data comes in strong.
    Vietnam's benchmark VN Index dipped 0.2 percent,
pulled down by banks before expected share sales by
exchange-traded funds. 
    Bucking the trend, Malaysia's broader index closed
0.2 percent higher at a record closing high of 1,824.86, despite
a $59.19 million foreign outflow. The index hit an intraday
record high on Tuesday. 
    Thailand's stock market, which saw over $664.60
million of foreign outflows in six straight sessions through
Wednesday due to political tensions, was closed for a holiday.  
    
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
 Change on day
 Market             Current     Prev Close    Pct Move
 TR SE Asia Index*   394.98        396.95       -0.50
 Singapore          3124.38       3160.70       -1.15
 Kuala Lumpur       1824.86       1821.90       +0.16
 Bangkok               -          1376.63         -  
 Jakarta            4216.89       4241.30       -0.58
 Manila             6030.95       6105.23       -1.22
 Ho Chi Minh         510.03        510.88       -0.17
 
 Change on year
 Market             Current     End prev yr    Pct Move
 TR SE Asia Index*   394.98        424.10       -6.87
 Singapore          3124.38       3167.08       -1.35
 Kuala Lumpur       1824.86       1688.95       +8.05
 Bangkok            1376.63       1391.93       -1.10
 Jakarta            4216.89       4316.69       -2.31
 Manila             6030.95       5812.73       +3.75
 Ho Chi Minh         510.03        413.73      +23.48
 * The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a
highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam