Anyone up late? Looks like we're in for an ugly morning Wed.: http://yahoo.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=comktNews&storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070228:MTFH01862_2007-02-28_04-10-59_SIN237543
And for the link challenged: SE Asia stocks-Markets stage biggest falls since 1997 crisis Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:11 PM ET By Wee Sui Lee SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stocks suffered their biggest one-day declines since Asia's 1997 financial meltdown, as investors sold off shares in a panic, following the slump in global markets. Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index <.STI> fell 5.63 percent by 0341 GMT and Malaysian shares tumbled 5.95 percent. The Philippine index lost 7.3 percent, while Indonesian stocks fell 3.22 percent. Thai shares were down 1.64 percent. Dealers said the selloff in Southeast Asian markets followed a near 9-percent plunge in Chinese stocks on Tuesday. "China's the culprit. We have a lot of listed Chinese companies, so we're dependent on China," said a dealer with a regional brokerage in Singapore. Singapore-listed Chinese companies -- which make up more than 100 of about 700 listed firms on the city-state's bourse -- sank sharply on Wednesday. Shipbuilding and repair firm Cosco Corp. <COSC.SI>, controlled by China's top shipping firm, plunged 8.9 percent, which reduced its market cap to below US$ 4 billion. Several other big-cap China plays also fell more than 7 percent, including food groups People's Food <PPFH.SI> and Pine Agritech <PINE.SI>. More than 20 small- and midcap China plays fell between 10 and 19 percent. Dealers said the Singapore market was also rattled by the slump in U.S. stocks on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> in its worst slide since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Losses in Southeast Asia's largest and most liquid bourse were led by DBS Group <DBSM.SI>, Singapore's biggest bank, which fell 6.2 percent, and United Overseas Bank <UOBH.SI>, the country's second-largest bank, which also tumbled 6.2 percent. Index heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications <STEL.SI>, Singapore's largest listed company, was down 5.5 percent. Genting International <GNTG.SI> sank 11 percent after Singapore said the Malaysian gambling firm's successful bid to build a casino in the city-state would not automatically qualify it for a casino licence. Sister company Star Cruises <SARC.SI> also slumped 14.5 percent. Analysts have long warned of an imminent correction in Southeast Asian markets, many of which have recorded record or multi-year highs in the year to date. "Singpore has been at an all-time high, and there's the law of gravity -- investors are getting nervous and are locking in profits," said Winson Fong, who manages $2 billion as chief investment officer at SG Asset Management in Singapore. "For the short-term, stocks which have gone up strongly will see sharp corrections; investors will look at underlying fundamentals before going in," Fong said. But other analysts said the selldown in the Singapore market would be temporary. "We anticipate the market will recover from this selloff within the next 10-15 trading days. Leading the resumption of the rally would be the blue-chips," said OCBC analyst Ritesh Menon in a research note, who added that his mid-year technical target for the index is at 3,350. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd <TENA.KL> led losses, sinking 5.7 percent. Malayan Banking <MBBM.KL>, the nation's biggest lender, fell 5.4 percent. In Jakarta, Indonesia's largest telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia <TLKM.JK> fell 3.3 percent. PT Bank Mandiri Tbk <BMRI.JK> lost 7.4 percent. In Bangkok, PTT PCL <PTT.BK>, Thailand's biggest energy firm, fell 1.9 percent. Advanced Info Service PCL <ADVA.BK>, Thailand's top mobile phone firm, slipped 2 percent. In Manila, PLDT <TEL.PS>, the Philippines' largest telecoms group, fell 8.2 percent, and Ayala Land <ALI.PS>, the country's top property developer, lost 6.1 percent. (Additonal reporting by Doreen Siow and Jamie Lee) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| ColdFusion MX7 and Flex 2 Build sales & marketing dashboard RIAâs for your business. Upgrade now http://www.adobe.com/products/coldfusion/flex2 Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:229065 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
