SE Asia Stocks-Mostly lower on financial woes, banks weak

* Mostly lower again on global financial woes

* S'pore led down by banks, commodities

* Jakarta extends rally despite weak GDP data

By Ploy Chitsomboon

BANGKOK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock
markets fell on Monday as fears of a worsening global recession
continued to stifle demand for equities, dragging down
financial shares such as Singapore's DBS and Thailand's Bangkok
Bank.

Singapore's Straits Times Index .FTSTI led the losers,
falling 1.3 percent after posting a 1.2 percent gain last
Friday, with banking and commodity blue chips leading
decliners.

DBS Group (DBSM.SI), Southeast Asia's biggest bank by
assets, lost 2.3 percent, United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) slid
2.5 percent and commodity group Olam International (OLAM.SI)
lost 5.8 percent on heavy profit-taking after a surge in the
price last week. [nSIN425637]

Malaysian shares .KLSE, the best performers in the region
so far this year, ended 0.3 percent lower, while the
Philippines .PSI eased 0.2 percent and Vietnam .VNI dropped
0.8 percent, at one stage hitting its lowest since October
2005.

Thai stocks .SETI, however, bucked the trend to rise 0.2
percent and Indonesian shares .JKSE gained 0.24 percent.

The regional falls were influenced by data showing Japan's
economy suffered its biggest quarterly contraction since 1974,
and Group of Seven finance chiefs said the economic slowdown
would persist through most of 2009.

"On a global scale, you see there's still lots of negative
vibes out there," said Siam City Securities strategist Sukit
Udomsirikul. "The markets across the region have become
increasingly restless and equity weakness is simply everywhere
as we're all facing this crisis," Sukit said.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS had fallen 0.2 percent by 0948 GMT.

Among the decliners in Malaysia were power utility Tenaga
Nasional (TENA.KL), which lost 0.8 percent after a 6.7 percent
gain on Friday.

In Jakarta, investors shrugged off a bigger-than-expected
slowdown in the country's economic growth [nJAK412319] and the
stock market rose 0.24 percent, lifted by timber firm PT Barito
Pacific Tbk (BRPT.JK), up 23 percent, and coal miner PT United
Tractors Tbk (UNTR.JK), up 2.6 percent.

In Bangkok, energy-related firms rose after an overnight
increase in oil prices CLc1, led by a 2.9 percent rise in
refiner Thai Oil TOP.BK, with Thoresen Thai TTA.BK up 2.5
percent.

The banking subindex .SETB, however, was a drag, with
Bangkok Bank BBL.BK, the top lender, down 1.3 percent and
Siam Commercial Bank SCB.BK, the third-ranked, off 1.8
percent.
($1=35.10 Baht)
(Reporting by Ploy Chitsomboon; Editing by Alan Raybould)