* Energy sector lifts Thai index
* Philippines falls ahead of Duterte's talks with China
* Singapore index touches a nearly 8-month low
By Soumyajit Saha
Aug 29 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets traded
flat to lower on Thursday as the Sino-U.S. friction and a gloomy
global outlook stirred a risk-off sentiment, with Philippine
leading declines.
Bond markets around the world painted a gloomier picture,
with yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries and 10-year German bunds
yield both hitting record lows on Wednesday.
Inversion remains a prominent feature across the U.S. yield
curve, where long-dated yields are below short-dated ones, an
unsettling sign as yield curve inversions have been a reliable
leading indicator of future U.S. recessions.
Hitting market sentiment further, Washington made its extra
5% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports official on
Wednesday and set collection dates of Sept. 1 and Dec. 15,
prompting hundreds of U.S. retail, footwear, toy and technology
companies to warn of price hikes. The lack of further developments in the Sino-U.S. trade
dispute was also restricting movement in Southeast Asian stock
markets, said Richard Laneda, research analyst, COL Financial.
The Philippine index .PSI retreated from previous
session's rally to lead losses in the region, ahead of President
Rodrigo Duterte's talks with China this week.
The trip comes amid a recent rise in tension on multiple
fronts, with Chinese vessels challenging energy assets and sea
boundaries of Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, prompting
warnings and rebukes by the United States.
Telecom and real estate stocks dragged Singapore's benchmark
index .STI to its lowest since Jan. 4. Singapore
Telecommunications STEL.SI dropped 1%, while real estate
developer Hongkong Land Holdings HKLD.SI lost 0.6%.
A downturn in the U.S. stock futures hurt the city-state's
markets, while near-term challenges faced by index heavyweight
Singapore Telecommunications in its overseas investments also
weighed, said Nicholas Yon, research analyst, Lim & Tan
Securities.
Bucking the sombre mood, Thai stocks .SETI advanced,
helped by gains in the energy sector as oil prices surged
overnight. Oil and gas explorers PTT PCL PTT.BK and PTT
Exploration and Production PTTEP.BK rose 1.8% and 0.6%
respectively.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3057.86 3056.47 0.05
Bangkok 1624.23 1616.93 0.45
Manila 7819.8 7847.5 -0.35
Jakarta 6288.458 6281.646 0.11
Kuala Lumpur 1587.53 1589.82 -0.14
Ho Chi Minh 974.37 977.26 -0.30
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3057.86 3068.76 -0.36
Bangkok 1624.23 1563.88 3.86
Manila 7819.8 7,466.02 4.74
Jakarta 6288.458 6,194.50 1.52
Kuala Lumpur 1587.53 1690.58 -6.10
Ho Chi Minh 974.37 892.54 9.17