* Singapore to announce headline, core inflation rate on
Tuesday
* Thai shares slip after June exports decline
By Anushka Trivedi
July 22 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended
lower on Monday, with Singapore leading losses, after a report
dashed hopes of an aggressive interest rate cut by the U.S.
central bank.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that the Fed was
likely to ease rates by 25 basis points by July-end, as opposed
to an expected 50 bps cut. Last week, New York Fed President John Williams initially
fuelled hopes of larger rate cut by calling for more stimulus
but shortly after, his comments were recanted to show that they
were meant to be observations rather than suggestions.
Singapore's benchmark index .STI slid the most in two
weeks, weighed down by industrial and financial stocks.
Shopping-mall landlord Capitaland Mall Trust CMLT.SI
dropped 1.5% ahead of second-quarter results announcement on
Tuesday, while lender United Overseas Bank Ltd UOBH.SI fell
0.5%.
The city-state is due to release its headline and core
inflation rate for June later on Tuesday, which is mostly
expected to have slowed down, a Reuters poll showed.
Meanwhile, Thai stocks .SETI edged lower after its exports
fell for a fourth straight month in June, while imports also
shrank.
TMB Bank PCL TMB.BK , one of the country's biggest by
market value, fell as much as 2.1% after reporting a decline in
quarterly profit. Investors will stay watchful of financial conditions in the
near term, such as share prices and corporate earnings in the
U.S., to gauge the magnitude of the Fed's rate cuts, Eugene
Leow, rates strategist at DBS, said.
"Stock prices have been remarkably resilient thus far,
suggesting that the easing cycle may be shallow", Leow added.
Philippine stocks .PSI fell 0.3% to pare some of its
earlier losses, with the industrial sector straining the
benchmark.
Marine port services provider International Container
Terminal Services Inc ICT.PS dipped 2.8%. Earlier in the day,
the company said it signed an agreement to acquire Libra
Terminal Rio S.A. after winning the bid for the Brazil-based
company last week. Indonesian shares .JKSE ticked down, while Vietnam stocks
.VNI were unchanged.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3357.22 3377.96 -0.61
Bangkok 1727.58 1735.1 -0.43
Manila 8246.83 8270.07 -0.28
Jakarta 6433.547 6456.539 -0.36
Kuala Lumpur 1655.4 1658.19 -0.17
Ho Chi Minh 982.04 982.34 -0.03
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3357.22 3068.76 9.40
Bangkok 1727.58 1563.88 10.47
Manila 8246.83 7,466.02 10.46
Jakarta 6433.547 6,194.50 3.86
Kuala Lumpur 1655.4 1690.58 -2.08
Ho Chi Minh 982.04 892.54 10.03