* Worries about China virus grow ahead of Lunar New Year
* Data shows Singapore inflation picked up slightly in Dec
* Indonesia's central bank keeps interest rates unchanged
* Philippine cenbank says 7% growth attainable in 2020
By Soumyajit Saha
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Most Southeast stock markets ended lower
on Thursday as mounting concerns of a coronavirus outbreak in
China sapped confidence, while the Philippine index .PSI
marked its best session in more than three months as traders
picked up beaten-down stocks.
Investors remained anxious about the spread of the virus as
China ordered a lockdown on Wuhan, a central Chinese city of 11
million people, ahead of the travel-heavy Chinese New Year
holiday. Leading losses in the region, Singapore shares .STI hit
their lowest close in two weeks with United Overseas Bank
UOBH.SI falling 0.7% and conglomerate Jardine Matheson
Holdings JARD.SI dropping 1.5%.
"A lot of things are still not known about this new virus
scare, so markets are bound to be very cautious," a trader with
Maybank Kim Eng Securities said, who declined to be identified
as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Sentiment dropped further after data showed that the
city-state's core inflation rate picked up slightly in December.
The Thai index .SETI traded flat in the absence of any
market-moving catalysts, while Malaysian shares .KLSE hit
their lowest close in more than a month, dented by healthcare
and consumer sectors.
Latex glove manufacturer Hartalega Holdings HTHB.KL fell
2.6%, while conglomerate Genting Bhd GENT.KL closed 2.3%
weaker.
Bucking the sombre mood, the Philippine benchmark index rose
almost 2% after the central bank said gross domestic product
(GDP) growth of 7% was attainable for 2020. Real estate developer Ayala Land ALI.PS advanced 3.6%,
while packaged food producer Universal Robina Corp URC.PS
ended 5.2% firmer.
"I would look into the performance over the last few days,
which is mostly weak, so today's bounce back mostly looks like
bargain-hunting from investors," said Charles William Ang,
associate analyst at COL Financial Group.
Gains in the resources and consumer sectors helped
Indonesian stocks .JKSE snap three sessions of losses, with
Chandra Asri Petrochemical TPIA.JK advancing 1.3%, while
cigarette maker Gudang Garam GGRM.JK ended 1.1% firmer.
Indonesia's central bank kept interest rates unchanged at
its first policy meeting of the year, noting the country's
economic cycle had past its lowest point and promising to remain
"accommodative". The Vietnam bourse was closed for a public holiday.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3234.56 3253.93 -0.60
Bangkok 1573.7 1574.59 -0.06
Manila 7616.35 7468.73 1.98
Jakarta 6249.21 6233.453 0.25
Kuala Lumpur 1574.44 1577.98 -0.22
Change so far in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 3234.56 3222.83 0.36
Bangkok 1573.7 1579.84 -0.39
Manila 7616.35 7,815.26 -2.55
Jakarta 6249.21 6,299.54 -0.80
Kuala Lumpur 1574.44 1588.76 -0.90
Ho Chi Minh 991.46 960.99 3.17