* Indonesia up for 4th day, hits highest since April 8
* Philippines eases Manila lockdown, up 1.5%
* Singapore falls up to 1% in early trade
By Arundhati Dutta
May 29 (Reuters) - Indonesia and the Philippines stocks rose
on Friday as their economies started returning to life after the
coronavirus-induced lockdowns, while Singapore and Thailand
tracked broader Asia lower on flaring Sino-U.S. tensions.
Beijing and Washington have traded blows over Hong Kong,
and China's parliament on Thursday opted to go ahead with its
national security legislation for the territory this week,
leading U.S. President Donald Trump to vow retaliation.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS , which includes China and a range of emerging
and developed markets from across the region, fell 0.3%.
Trade-sensitive Singaporean stocks .STI fell as much as
1%, with index heavyweights United Overseas Bank Ltd UOBH.SI
and DBS Group Holdings Ltd DBSM.SI slipping up to 1.4% each.
The Philippines stocks rose on plans to ease the lockdown in
Manila, with the local benchmark .PSI extending its rally to a
third day and rising up to 1.5%. Big-cap financials BDO Unibank
Inc BDO.PS and Security Bank Corp SECB.PS added as much as
9.3% and 5.4%, respectively. Indonesian local media https://en.tempo.co/read/1347150/jokowi-advises-against-premature-opening-of-tourism-sector
reported that plans were underway to impose "new normal"
protocols across four provinces, including Jakarta, aimed at
increasing productivity even as COVID-19 cases continue to
surge. The benchmark .JKSE was up for a fourth session and hit
its highest level in nearly two months, with healthcare and
consumer discretionary stocks contributing to most of the gains.
Vietnamese equities .VNI rose 0.4%, with the real estate
sector leading gains.
Shares in Thailand .SETI edged lower while Malaysia
.KLSE was flat.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0327 GMT
STOCK MARKETS
Change on the
day
Market Current Previous Pct Move
close
Singapore 2,505.87 2,515.24 -0.37
Bangkok 1,333.74 1,337.51 -0.28
Manila 5,645.72 5,570.22 1.36
Jakarta 4,739.345 4,716.185 0.49
Kuala Lumpur 1,457.21 1,457.5 -0.02
Ho Chi Minh 864.07 861.39 0.31
Change so far
in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2,505.87 3,222.83 -22.25
Bangkok 1,333.74 1,579.84 -15.58
Manila 5,645.72 7,815.26 -27.76
Jakarta 4,739.345 6,299.54 -24.77
Kuala Lumpur 1,457.21 1,588.76 -8.28
Ho Chi Minh 864.07 960.99 -10.09