SE Asia Stocks-Most decline tracking China; Singapore down nearly 1 pct
By Niyati Shetty
Oct 8 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets
stumbled on Monday following their Chinese peers, which fell
despite the country's central bank increasing liquidity to
offset the fallout of a months-long U.S.-China trade row.
Sino-U.S. tensions intensified over the last week with U.S.
Vice President Mike Spence accusing China of meddling in next
month's congressional elections and a report that Chinese spies
had compromised U.S. hardware.
"There is negative impact from the Chinese stock market
because the central bank's measure cannot fully offset the
negative sentiment from last week," said Rakpong Chaisuparakul,
an analyst at KGI Thailand.
The People's Bank of China on Sunday cut the minimum cash
reserve that banks must hold, in a move to support the economy.
Chinese markets reacted for the first time, after a
week-long holiday, to last week's surge in benchmark U.S.
Treasury yields and strong economic data which sparked concerns
of a faster-than-expected rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
was 0.9 percent lower.
Singapore's benchmark index continued to decline on
Monday, closing lower for a third straight session, ahead of
possible tightening of monetary policy by the central bank this
week.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to tighten
monetary policy at Friday's review, in an attempt to balance the
risks of growth and inflation amid global trade frictions.
United Overseas Bank fell 2.1 percent and
conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings slid 1 percent.
Thai shares fell 1.4 percent, extending losses into
a fifth session, weighed down by energy and materials sector.
PTT Exploration and Production declined 3.3
percent while Indorama Ventures slumped 5.7 percent.
On the other hand, Indonesia stocks bucked the trend
to rise 0.5 percent, with financial and consumer shares boosting
the index. Bank Central Asia gained 1.7 percent and
Unilever Indonesia advanced 3.6 percent.
The country's central bank has intervened to manage the
rupiah's volatility, a senior official told Reuters on Monday,
after the currency weakened to its lowest in over 20
years.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3181.45 3209.79 -0.88
Bangkok 1696.22 1720.52 -1.41
Manila 7050.82 7078.2 -0.39
Jakarta 5761.073 5731.935 0.51
Kuala Lumpur 1775.75 1777.15 -0.08
Ho Chi Minh 996.12 1008.39 -1.22
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3181.45 3402.92 -6.51
Bangkok 1696.22 1753.71 -3.28
Manila 7050.82 8558.42 -17.62
Jakarta 5761.073 6355.654 -9.36
Kuala Lumpur 1775.75 1796.81 -1.17
Ho Chi Minh 996.12 984.24 1.21
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil
Nair)