SE Asia Stocks-Banks hurt Singapore; commodities help Thailand

* S'pore touches 1-week low; banks fall after ratings news;

* Commodity-related stocks push Thailand up;

* Indonesia up for sixth day; Malaysia reverses early falls

By Viparat Jantraprap

BANGKOK, April 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks ended
mixed on Monday, with Singaporean banks retreating after
adverse rating news while commodity-linked shares pushed the
Thai market to three-month highs even though investors fled
domestic sectors.

Singapore's Straits Times Index .FTSTI fell 1.1 percent
to 1,874.85, recouping some early losses to its lowest since
April 15, with top bank DBS Group (DBSM.SI) sliding 1.6 percent
and smaller Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC.SI) losing 2.8
percent.

Moody's Investors Service cut its rating outlook on
Singapore's three banking groups to "negative" from "stable",
saying the global recession would hurt earnings and asset
quality. [ID:nSIN244107]

But Broker Citi Investment Research said in a research note
dated April 17 that it had a 12-month target for the Singapore
index at 2,400 and expected a smaller rate of contraction in
GDP in the second and third quarters.

"We expect the recession to be over by the fourth quarter
of 2009," it said.

"We are factoring in a weaker STI market recovery this time
around because of the likely U-shaped economic recovery, versus
the V-shaped recovery seen after previous recessions," it said.

The Thai SET index .SETI rose 2.1 percent to its highest
since Jan. 9, with top energy firm PTT PTT.BK up 5.3 percent
and top olefins maker PTT Chemical PTTC.BK up 5.9 percent.

Sahaviriya Steel SSI.BK, top hot-rolled steel coil maker,
jumped 13.2 percent and Tata Steel TSTH.BK, top steel bar
maker, surged 15.3 percent.

Risk-averse investors pulled money from sectors sensitive
to slowing domestic demand and political uncertainty, analysts
said.

"Investors are weighing up risk and return and favoured
global plays over domestic plays," said Capital Nomura head of
research Thanomsak Saharatchai.

"Funds inflows in Thai stocks have been more a catch-up
play because the Thai market was a laggard in Asia due to
concerns about domestic politics," he said.

Television channel operator BEC World BEC.BK eased 0.5
percent. Banks rose at the start of the earnings season, with
Kasikornbank KBAN.BK gaining 1.6 percent after a
smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly earnings.

Malaysia .KLSE gained 0.3 percent, Indonesia .JKSE rose
for a sixth day, up 1.7 percent, the Philippines .PSI lost
0.4 percent and Vietnam .VNI dropped 4.6 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, Genting (GENT.KL) rose 4.7 percent while
Maybank (MBBM.KL) slid 2.3 percent. In Jakarta, Bank Mandiri
(BMRI.JK) gained 5 percent and Bank Negara Indonesia (BBNI.JK)
rose 3.9 percent.

In Manila, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI.PS) and
Energy Development Corp (EDC.PS) both lost more than 2 percent.

Fitch Ratings has cut its economic growth forecast for the
Philippines to just 0.5 percent this year from a January
forecast of 2.5 percent, reflecting shrinking consumption on
the back of falling remittances and rising unemployment.

In Hanoi, the main index .VNI fell for a second day to
close at its lowest since April 9.

Vietnam's fifth-largest lender, Asia Commercial Bank
ACB.HN, lost 5.3 percent although it expected gross profit
this year to rise 5.5 percent.
($1=35.53 Baht)
(Editing by Alan Raybould)