* Singapore posts first weekly gain in seven
* Philippines snaps two weekly gains
* Vietnam bucks trend to end lower
By Shreya Mariam Job
Sept 6 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended
slightly higher on Friday, paring most of its early gains, as
investors turned cautious about concrete progress in U.S.-China
trade relations.
"The ongoing Sino-U.S. trade tension still consists of a
huge unpredictability, as evident from the dramatic change in
sentiments of late, and we expect strong volatility ahead as the
current situation paints an image of imminent strong headwinds
for global indices," Phillip Futures said in a note to clients.
Philippine stocks .PSI maintained its lead among regional
indexes, ending the session 0.5% higher. For the week, however,
it dropped 0.6%, snapping two weekly gains.
Hotel developer and operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp
BLOOM.PS and real estate developer Robinsons Land Corp
RLC.PS were the top gainers on the index, rising 3.9% and
2.9%, respectively.
Malaysian stocks .KLSE closed 0.3% higher, helped by
industrial stocks.
Port services provider MISC Bhd MISC.KL rose 3.5%, while
Sime Darby Bhd SIME.KL gained 1.3%.
Thai stocks .SETI ended the session little changed, with
losses among telecom and industrial stocks offset by gains in
financial and energy stocks.
The country also unveiled a generous relocation package on
Friday to attract foreign companies looking to move production
because of the intensifying Sino-U.S. trade war. Meanwhile, Singapore stocks .STI posted its first weekly
gain in seven, but ended the session marginally lower.
Gains among financial stocks were outweighed by losses in
industrials.
Vietnam, the most-favoured destination for manufacturing
firms moving out of China to avoid tariffs, has not taken the
news of talks between U.S. and China in October well, as the
country's stock index .VNI fell 0.3%. Real estate and
financials dragged the benchmark lower.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3144.48 3147.06 -0.08
Bangkok 1670.06 1669.79 0.02
Manila 7933.47 7898.19 0.45
Jakarta 6308.95 6306.803 0.03
Kuala Lumpur 1604.47 1599.75 0.30
Ho Chi Minh 974.08 976.79 -0.28
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3144.48 3068.76 2.47
Bangkok 1670.06 1563.88 6.79
Manila 7933.47 7,466.02 6.26
Jakarta 6308.95 6,194.50 1.85
Kuala Lumpur 1604.47 1690.58 -5.09
Ho Chi Minh 974.08 892.54 9.14