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SE Asia Stocks-SE Asia Stocks-Mostly up; Malaysia, Singapore outperform

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stocks mostly ended

firmer on Thursday, with Malaysia and Singapore outperforming in

the region amid mixed signals on the Chinese manufacturing

sector.

Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 1.1 percent,

rising to its highest level since Oct. 9, led by financials.

Malaysia rose 0.8 percent to its highest close in two

weeks, led by consumer cyclical stocks like Genting

and Genting Malaysia.

Shares of Malaysia's second-biggest bank, CIMB Group

Holdings Bhd, fell after local media reported that the

Employees Provident Fund (EPF), a key CIMB shareholder, may be

forced to cut its stake to push through a planned merger. It

closed 0.2 percent weaker.

Asian shares sagged after a retreat on Wall Street and

falling crude oil prices rekindled investor anxiety over slowing

global growth, while a mixed picture on Chinese manufacturing

failed to impress markets.

The latest manufacturing read on China did little to allay

those concerns. The flash HSBC/Markit manufacturing purchasing

managers' index (PMI) edged up to 50.4 from a final reading of

50.2 in September, just a hair's breadth from the 50.3 reading

forecast by analysts.

Among the decliners was the Philippine share index,

closing down 0.5 percent, and Vietnam, which dropped 1.3

percent as investors offloaded shares after three days of gains

that followed a sharp decline last week.

The Thailand stock market was closed for a holiday.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change on day

Market Current Prev Close Pct Move

Singapore 3236.50 3202.74 +1.05

Kuala Lumpur 1810.68 1796.22 +0.81

Bangkok -- 1532.72 -

Jakarta 5103.52 5074.32 +0.58

Manila 7116.13 7154.22 -0.53

Ho Chi Minh 593.53 601.59 -1.34

Change on year

Market Current End 2013 Pct Move

Singapore 3236.50 3167.43 +2.18

Kuala Lumpur 1810.68 1866.96 -3.01

Bangkok 1532.72 1298.71 +18.02

Jakarta 5103.52 4274.18 +19.40

Manila 7116.13 5889.83 +20.82

Ho Chi Minh 593.53 504.63 +17.62

(Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)