* Indonesia set to end 4 weeks of declines
* Thai shares dragged by energy stocks as oil plunged
overnight
* Singapore April factory output due
By Niyati Shetty
May 24 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets
declined on Friday as the trade war between the United States
and China snowballed into a deeper strategic issue, while
Indonesia was on track to snap four weeks of declines.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said his
administration's complaints against Huawei Technologies HWT.UL
might be resolved within the framework of a Sino-U.S. trade
deal, while at the same time calling the Chinese firm "very
dangerous". Washington last week placed Huawei on a trade blacklist,
which effectively banned U.S. companies from selling goods to
the telecom giant. "Asian markets are likely to take another step back today as
investors reassess their market positioning amid the potentially
protracted US-China trade war," OCBC Bank said in a note to
clients.
The Manila index .PSI fell up to 1.8%, dragged by
industrial and real estate stocks, but was poised to gain 1.6%
for the week.
Conglomerate SM Investments Corp SM.PS lost 2.4%, while
property developer Ayala Land Inc ALI.PS dropped 2.3%.
The spillover effect of the ban has also seeped into Asia
with retailers in the region, including in Singapore and
Philippines, refusing to accept Huawei phones for trade-ins as
customers look to offload their devices. Meanwhile, Singapore stocks .STI traded marginally lower
ahead of the country's April manufacturing output figures due
later in the day. The index was set to fall 1.6% this week, its
third straight weekly loss.
Economic data from the island, released earlier in the week,
showed Singapore's first-quarter annual economic growth contract
to the lowest in nearly a decade, as manufacturing contracted in
the wake of the bitter Sino-U.S. spat. The Thai bourse .SETI slipped 0.7% and was likely to
decline for a third consecutive week. Energy stocks dragged the
index as oil prices plunged overnight on dampened demand outlook
due to the ongoing trade tension. O/R
Oil & gas firms PTT Exploration and Production PCL
PTTEP.BK and PTT PCL PTT.BK declined 4.6% and 1.6%,
respectively.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE , however, advanced as much as 0.6%
and was expected to rise 3.8% for the week as it snaps four
straight weeks of losses.
Markets were largely positive during the week after
incumbent President Joko Widodo was re-elected, despite some
violence seen in the capital by protesters angry about the
outcome. Malaysian equities .KLSE rose on Friday as consumer price
index in April rose 0.2% from a year earlier, matching the pace
in March, but was below a 0.4% estimate in a Reuters poll.
Earlier this month, the country's central bank cut its key
interest rate for the first time since 2016, amid weak inflation
and concerns over slowing economic growth. Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0400 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3151.58 3160.72 -0.29
Bangkok 1602.07 1609.79 -0.48
Manila 7702.17 7804.03 -1.31
Jakarta 6050.057 6032.696 0.29
Kuala Lumpur 1605.6 1601.87 0.23
Ho Chi Minh 980.95 982.71 -0.18
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3151.58 3068.76 2.70
Bangkok 1602.07 1563.88 2.44
Manila 7702.17 7,466.02 3.16
Jakarta 6050.057 6,194.50 -2.33
Kuala Lumpur 1605.6 1690.58 -5.03
Ho Chi Minh 980.95 892.54 9.91