SE Asia stocks: Thailand slumps as banks drag

Thai shares closed at an over nine-month low on Friday due to fears of a weak earnings season after a dismal show by major banks, while Indonesia ended a 10-day rally on profit taking.

Caution also pervaded in the region before a summit in Chile where US President Donald Trump hopes to finalise a partial trade deal with China's Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile, a speech by US Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday criticizing China of handling protests in Hong Kong further rattled confidence.

Leading declines in Southeast Asia, the Thai index ended 1.7% lower on Friday, its worst closing since Jan. 21. Financials were among the biggest drags, with Bank of Ayudhya and Krung Thai Bank slipping 3.9% and 1.2% each.

For the week, the index posted it biggest weekly loss in over 5 months.

The country's second-largest lender Kasirkonbank Pcl extended losses to a fifth day. The company had forecast its gross non-performing loan ratio to widen in fiscal 2020 as compared to last year.

"Investors are concerned about the earnings seasons. For the time it seems reports from banking sectors so far are not so good, with concerns about non-performing loans," said Teerada Charnyingyong, an analyst at Phillip Capital Thailand.

Indonesian stocks marked their worst day in more than a month after gaining 5.2% over a 10-day winning streak. The index posted a third consecutive weekly gain.

Financials and consumer firms were among the top decliners, with Bank Central Asia and Unilever Indonesia losing 1.6% and 2.5% each.

Southeast Asia's largest economy's fiscal deficit in 2019 is seen widening to around 2.0%-2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), a finance ministry official said, instead of the 1.93% forecast earlier.

Singapore shares gained 0.5%, buoyed by strong industrial output data for the city-state, and a 6.9% rise in Singapore Exchange after the bourse reported its biggest quarterly net profit in 12 years on Thursday.

Philippine stocks slipped 0.4%, with BDO Unibank and Ayala Corp among the biggest losers.