* Most fall, Malaysia leads losses, down over 1%
* All indexes log losses for the month of November
* Vietnam logs biggest monthly drop in 11 months
By Arundhati Dutta
Nov 29 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian markets dropped on
Friday, hurt by worries that a U.S. law backing protesters in
Chinese-ruled Hong Kong could disrupt ongoing trade
negotiations, as the two countries try to strike a deal to
diffuse a 16-month long trade war.
All eyes were trained on China, which on Thursday warned of
retaliation after U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation
that, among other things, threatened sanctions for human rights
violations in Hong Kong. "Market will continue to wait for potential counter
measures from China," an OCBC Treasury Research note said.
Investors were also cautious ahead of official data on
China's factory activity due for release on Saturday, which a
Reuters poll expects to have contracted for the seventh straight
month in November amid sluggish domestic demand. The Malaysian index .KLSE led declines in the region,
dragged by Sime Darby Plantation Bhd SIPL.KL , the world's
biggest oil palm planter by land size, which posted a 75% slump
in third-quarter profit. Losses among other big caps such as electricity retailer
Tenaga Nasional TENA.KL and lender Hong Leong Bank HLBB.KL
also weighed on the index.
Philippine stocks .PSI closed lower and shed 3% in
November to log their worst monthly performance since February.
For the session, conglomerate SM Investments SM.PS shed 0.9%
to put pressure on the index.
Thai equities .SETI extended falls for a fourth
consecutive session and notched a fifth straight month of
losses.
Earlier in the day, data released by the country's central
bank showed the country's October exports fell 5%
year-over-year, while trade surplus narrowed. The Singapore index .STI edged lower and logged its
biggest weekly drop in nearly two months.
During most of the session, losses were contained by gains
in Thai Beverage Pcl's TBEV.SI shares which rose as much as
5.2% after Bloomberg reported that the Singapore-based brewer
was planning an IPO of some of its regional beer assets worth up
to $3 billion. However, the brewer's shares were placed on trading halt by
late-afternoon, pending response to a query raised by the stock
exchange.
Bucking the trend, Indonesian shares .JKSE snapped a
six-session losing streak to close higher but posted its worst
monthly performance in six months.
Data on Indonesia's annual inflation rate for November is
expected on Monday, with a Reuters poll showing it is expected
to ease slightly and stay comfortably within the central bank's
target range. Vietnamese shares .VNI were subdued during the session but
posted their worst monthly performance in 11 months.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3193.92 3200.61 -0.21
Bangkok 1590.59 1597.68 -0.44
Manila 7738.96 7768.66 -0.38
Jakarta 6011.83 5953.06 0.99
Kuala Lumpur 1561.74 1583.77 -1.39
Ho Chi Minh 970.75 970.39 0.04
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3193.92 3068.76 4.08
Bangkok 1590.59 1563.88 1.71
Manila 7738.96 7,466.02 3.66
Jakarta 6011.83 6,194.50 -2.95
Kuala Lumpur 1561.74 1690.58 -7.62
Ho Chi Minh 970.75 892.54 8.76