* Malaysia drops to lowest since May 31
* Singapore on track for fifth straight gain
* Philippines closed for holiday
By Shreya Mariam Job
June 12 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell
on Wednesday, with Malaysia leading declines, as escalating
tensions on the U.S.-China trade front and concerns of slowing
growth in China curbed risk sentiment.
Broader Asian markets were also tepid with investor
sentiment soured by deepening dents in the Sino-U.S. trade
negotiations and China growth worries.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was off 0.38% after two days of gains.
"Expect investors to remain antsy with U.S. Commerce
Secretary expecting no major breakthrough deals, while official
rhetoric from China continues to harden," OCBC said in a note.
China vowed a tough response if the United States insists on
escalating trade tensions amid ongoing negotiations, after U.S.
President Donald Trump said he was ready to impose another round
of punitive tariffs on China.
"Tariffs are a great negotiating tool," Trump tweeted On
Tuesday. Meanwhile, China's factory gate inflation slowed in May amid
sluggish commodity demand and faltering manufacturing activity ,
fuelling worries growth in the world's second-largest economy is
slipping. Consumer prices, however, soared at their fastest pace
in over a year. Malaysian stocks .KLSE dropped as much as 0.5% to their
lowest since May 31, dragged by telecom and utility shares.
Maxis Bhd MXSC.KL dropped 1.4%, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd
TENA.KL slid 1.8%.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE dipped 0.3%, dragged by telecom
stocks.
Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk Pt TLKM.JK , which trades
ex-dividend from Wednesday, dipped 2.7%.
Indonesia's central bank sees economic growth of 5.1-5.5% in
2020, while continuing to monitor global economic conditions to
assess whether there is scope for an "accommodative monetary
policy", Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo said on Tuesday.
Thai shares .SETI dipped hurt by broad based losses.
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL BDMS.BK and PTT PCL
PTT.BK dropped 2.5% and 0.5%, respectively.
Bucking the trend, Singapore stocks .STI rose and were on
track to post their fifth straight session of gains.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd DBSM.SI and Jardine Cycle &
Carriage Ltd JCYC.SI firmed 0.7% and 1.9%, respectively.
Philippine market .PSI was closed for a holiday.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As at 0316 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3215.52 3209.58 0.19
Bangkok 1666.47 1670.41 -0.24
Jakarta 6285.814 6305.992 -0.32
Kuala Lumpur 1642.98 1651.2 -0.50
Ho Chi Minh 959.04 962.07 -0.31
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3215.52 3068.76 4.78
Bangkok 1666.47 1563.88 6.56
Jakarta 6285.814 6,194.50 1.47
Kuala Lumpur 1642.98 1690.58 -2.82
Ho Chi Minh 959.04 892.54 7.45