* Vietnam stocks set to gain 7.8% in 2019
* Malaysian shares fall; Singapore flat
* Other markets closed for New Year's Eve
By Shruti Sonal
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares fell more than 1% on
Tuesday, dragged by banking and consumer stocks, while Singapore
erased gains in thin year-end trading.
Broader Asia .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.4%, as investors
booked profits on the last trading day of the decade. Most
Southeast Asian benchmarks were poised to end the year higher.
MKTS/GLOB
Singapore's market shut early on Tuesday, while most other
markets in the region are closed on account of New Year's Eve.
Malaysian benchmark .KLSE marked its worst session in more
than a month, with all sectors trading in the red. The index
recorded losses of 5.4% for the year.
Public Bank Bhd PUBM.KL fell 1.7%, while Sime Darby
Plantation SIPL.KL , the world's largest oil palm planter by
land size, slid 2%.
"While market volumes are predictably light, investors
continue to strike a year-end cautionary tone as December
optimism is gradually giving way to 2020's uncertainty," Stephen
Innes, chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a
note.
On the trade front, White House's trade adviser said on
Monday the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade deal would likely be signed
in the next week, but said a confirmation would come from
President Donald Trump or the U.S. Trade Representative.
Any signs of easing trade tensions between Washington and
Beijing are a major boon for Southeast Asian economies, which
count China as their top trading partner.
Meanwhile, data on Tuesday showed factory activity in China,
expanded for a second straight month in December, as production
quickened and export orders rose. Singapore's benchmark index .STI was flat, but gained 4.9%
for the year. Industrial stocks offset gains in financials, with
Jardine Strategic Holdings JSH.SI slipping 1.6%.
The Vietnam index .VNI fell 0.3%, but was on track to post
a 7.8% gain for 2019, outperforming its peers by a vast margin.
Financial and consumer stocks accounted for most of the
losses on the benchmark, with Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp
SAB.HM falling 0.9%.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0352 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3221.09 3222.44 -0.04
Kuala Lumpur 1597.97 1615.67 -1.10
Ho Chi Minh 962.07 965.03 -0.31
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3221.09 3068.76 4.96
Bangkok 1579.84 1563.88 1.02
Manila 7815.26 7,466.02 4.68
Jakarta 6299.539 6,194.50 1.70
Kuala Lumpur 1597.97 1690.58 -5.48
Ho Chi Minh 962.07 892.54 7.79