SE Asia Stocks-Indonesia, Vietnam rise on govt measures to soften virus impact

© Reuters.

* Govt stimulus driving Indonesian shares higher - analyst
* Vietnam to offer cash to low-income earners hit by virus

By Arundhati Dutta
April 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia and Vietnam stocks rose on
Wednesday as risk appetite was whetted by government measures to
cushion the economic impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus,
while Singapore shares slipped following sharp gains in the
previous session.
The Jakarta SE Composite Index .JKSE climbed as much as
2%, with financials leading the gains. PT Bank Central Asia Tbk
BBCA.JK and PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk BMRI.JK rose more
than 4% each.
Sebastian Tobing, an equity strategist with Trimegah
Sekuritas Indonesia, attributed the rise to the government's
stimulus measures.
President Joko Widodo declared a public health emergency
over the epidemic on Tuesday and announced nearly $25 billion
additional spending to counter its impact. The central bank on Tuesday slashed its economic growth
outlook for 2020 to 2.3%-2.5% from an earlier estimate of
4.2%-4.6%. Shares in Vietnam .VNI advanced as much as 2%, with gains
underpinned by financials.
Vietnam will offer 28 trillion-30 trillion dong ($1.19
billion to $1.27 billion) in cash to low-income earners hit by
the pandemic, the government said on Tuesday. Philippine stocks .PSI rose as much as 1.5%, with big cap
property developer SM Prime Holdings SMPH.PS up 5%.
On the downside, China's factory activity showed minimal
growth in March after a plunge in the previous month, a private
survey showed, indicating that the world's second-largest
economy remains under pressure from the pandemic. Singapore stocks .STI lost more than 1%, dragged by blue
chips Jardine Matheson Holdings JARD.SI and Jardine Strategic
Holdings JSH.SI .
Malaysian equities .KLSE shed up to 1.4%, with heavyweight
Tenaga Nasional TENA.KL losing 1.8%.
Malaysia's movement restrictions have prevented major daily
spikes in coronavirus infections, the government said on
Tuesday, but the World Bank warned the trade-reliant country's
economy would shrink this year for the first time in more than a
decade. Thai shares .SETI slipped after Tuesday's 3.5% jump, with
financials leading the fall.
Thailand's cabinet agreed to triple the number of workers
receiving cash handouts to nine million to help cushion the
impact of the virus. Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0335 GMT

STOCK MARKETS
Change on the
day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 2451.52 2481.23 -1.20
Bangkok 1120.54 1125.86 -0.47
Manila 5398.99 5321.23 1.46
Jakarta 4579.999 4538.93 0.90
Kuala Lumpur 1341.68 1350.89 -0.68
Ho Chi Minh 675.49 662.53 1.96

Change so far
in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2451.52 3222.83 -23.93
Bangkok 1120.54 1579.84 -29.07
Manila 5398.99 7,815.26 -30.92
Jakarta 4579.999 6,299.54 -27.30
Kuala Lumpur 1341.68 1588.76 -15.55
Ho Chi Minh 675.49 960.99 -29.71