* Indonesia at lowest close in a month
* Singapore slumps on Singtel, June factory output data
* Thailand snaps streak of nine consecutive weekly gains
By Anushka Trivedi
July 26 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended
lower on Friday, with Indonesia falling the most, as risky
assets lost their sheen after the European Central Bank (ECB)
unexpectedly left interest rates unchanged.
ECB on Thursday supported the view of needing economic
stimulus but did not deliver the 10 basis point cut that was
widely anticipated, with focus now shifting to the U.S. Federal
Reserve which is set to review its monetary policy next week.
Indonesian shares .JKSE were the biggest decliners in
Southeast Asia, as they fell 1.2% to their lowest in a month on
weakness in consumer stocks.
PT Charoen Pokphand Indonesia Tbk CPIN.JK and cigarette
maker PT Gudang Garam Tbk GGRM.JK shed 3.8% and 1.8%,
respectively.
"Heavy foreign outflow contributed to the downfall today,
particularly from big-cap stocks, partly caused by expectation
of a less aggressive Fed after the ECB held rates", said
Anugerah Zamzami Nasr, equity research analyst at PT Phillip
Sekuritas Indonesia.
Adding to the gloom were Chinese media reports about local
authorities suspecting that FedEx Corp FDX.N illegally
withheld Huawei Technologies Co Ltd HWT.UL packages, a move
that risks spiking further tensions in the protracted Sino-U.S.
trade war. "With geopolitical tensions mounting across the region and
export markets floundering unless there's a positive surprise
from next week's U.S.-China trade meeting, its challenging to
support a bullish view" said Stephen Innes, Managing Partner at
VanguardMarkets.com.
Meanwhile, Philippine stocks .PSI snapped three
consecutive weekly gains as industrial stocks weighed on the
benchmark.
Singapore's main index .STI fell 0.5%, with Singapore
Telecommunications Ltd STEL.SI tugging it lower as the stock
traded ex-dividend.
Also hurting the sentiment was the its factory output which
slipped to a near four-year low in June, hit by a slowdown in
the electronics sector, though the data was slightly
better-than-expected. Thai shares .SETi lost 0.8% to end its streak of nine
consecutive weekly gains.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3363.76 3381.26 -0.52
Bangkok 1717.97 1730.9 -0.75
Manila 8183.99 8272.18 -1.07
Jakarta 6325.237 6401.365 -1.19
Kuala Lumpur 1647.96 1656.58 -0.52
Ho Chi Minh 993.35 994.95 -0.16
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3363.76 3068.76 9.61
Bangkok 1717.97 1563.88 9.85
Manila 8183.99 7,466.02 9.62
Jakarta 6325.237 6,194.50 2.11
Kuala Lumpur 1647.96 1690.58 -2.52
Ho Chi Minh 993.35 892.54 11.29