* Singapore sees biggest one-day drop since Oct. 2008
* Thailand falls 9%, hits circuit breaker
* Indonesia hits fifth circuit breaker in eight sessions
By Arpit Nayak
March 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets witnessed
heavy selling on Monday as the economic impact from lockdowns
and travel curbs, meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus
pandemic, fuelled fears of a likely recession.
Amid the rising tide of lockdowns, governments have
announced stimulus packages and central banks across the region
have eased monetary policies to shield their economies from the
impact of the virus but those measures have met with little
success so far. "The losses seen across Asian markets are unlikely to be
meaningfully reversed anytime soon, with investors fearing a
global recession amid the economic carnage left by Covid-19,"
said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM.
"... The selloff in global equities is expected to continue
amid the glaring void of risk-on catalysts, while investors'
persistent clamour for dollar should maintain the downward
pressure on Asian and emerging market currencies."
Singapore equities .STI lost 7.4%, their worst session in
more than 11 years, after the city-state banned short-term
visitors from entering its borders. Singapore's main price gauge slipped into deflation for the
first time in over a decade in February as the virus has dented
air travel and holiday spending. Flag-carrier Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI plunged 11% to the
lowest in over two decades on plans to ground nearly its entire
fleet due to travel restrictions. The Thai index .SETI ended 9.1% lower in a low-volume
trading session after triggering a circuit breaker that halted
trading for thirty minutes.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE fell 4.9% after hitting circuit
breakers five times in eight sessions.
Malaysian shares .KLSE dropped 3.3% after the government
said it may consider extending movement restrictions by up to
two weeks, even as the army was roped in to enforce a partial
lockdown in the country. The Philippine bourse .PSI pared early losses but still
ended 0.7% down as the central bank unveiled a $5.8 billion
programme to blunt the economic impact of the virus.
Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 2,233.48 2,410.74 -7.35
Bangkok 1,024.46 1,127.24 -9.12
Manila 4,743.37 4,778.76 -0.74
Jakarta 3,989.517 4,194.944 -4.90
Kuala Lumpur 1,259.88 1,303.28 -3.33
Ho Chi Minh 666.59 709.73 -6.08
Change so far in
2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2,233.48 3,222.83 -30.70
Bangkok 1,024.46 1,579.84 -35.15
Manila 4,743.37 7,815.26 -39.31
Jakarta 3,989.517 6,299.54 -36.67
Kuala Lumpur 1,259.88 1,588.76 -20.70
Ho Chi Minh 666.59 960.99 -30.64