* Indonesia slightly lower ahead of rate decision
* Financial, industrial stocks weigh on Philippine index
By Soumyajit Saha
July 17 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended
lower on Wednesday, after positive U.S. retail sales data
overnight dampened expectations of long-term policy easing by
the U.S. Federal Reserve and fears of fresh U.S. tariffs on
Chinese goods.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that the U.S. could
impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods and that the two countries
still had a "long way to go" in striking out a trade deal.
U.S. retail sales in June increased more than expected,
helped by a rise in purchase of motor vehicles, furniture and
building materials, among other things. "While traders see the Federal Reserve interest rate cut
this month as a lock, the strength of June data could be enough
to dim the hopes for subsequent easing," said Stephen Innes,
managing partner at Vanguard Markets Ltd, in a note.
Market participants have benefited over the last year from
hopes of dovish action from the Fed, especially when confronted
by headwinds from the Sino-U.S. tariff war. The year-long spat
between the world's two top economies has caused considerable
damage to economic growth worldwide.
Malaysian stocks were down 0.7%, dragged by resource and
utility stocks. Petronas Chemical Group PCGB.KL lost 3.9%,
while electricity generator Tenaga Nasional TENA.KL fell 1.6%.
Indonesian shares .JKSE were slightly lower, hurt by
losses in telecom and financial stocks.
Indonesia's central bank is widely expected to cut rates on
Thursday, according to a Reuters poll, ahead of the anticipated
Fed policy easing. Thai stocks .SETI fell, with index heavyweights Bangkok
Bank BBL.BK and PTT Exploration and Production PTTEP.BK
down 1% each.
Philippine benchmark .PSI ended lower for a second day,
hurt by losses in financial and industrial stocks.
Property developer SM Prime holdings SMPH.PS fell 1.4%,
while International Container Terminal Services ICT.PS was
down 1.1%.
Singapore shares .STI rose marginally, as the market
awaited further direction after disappointing June export data,
which followed a contraction in second-quarter GDP.
"The economic data has increasingly favoured easing by the
Monetary Authority of Singapore" Prakash Sakpal, an economist at
ING group, said in a note.
"Talk of an off-cycle policy adjustment, before the next
scheduled semi-annual review in October, has gained traction,"
he added.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3364.87 3360.03 0.14
Bangkok 1718.85 1727.98 -0.53
Manila 8233.48 8263.57 -0.36
Jakarta 6394.609 6401.88 -0.11
Kuala Lumpur 1657.53 1668.94 -0.68
Ho Chi Minh 982.57 982.11 0.05
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3364.87 3068.76 9.65
Bangkok 1718.85 1563.88 9.91
Manila 8233.48 7,466.02 10.28
Jakarta 6394.609 6,194.50 3.23
Kuala Lumpur 1657.53 1690.58 -1.95
Ho Chi Minh 982.57 892.54 10.09