* Indonesia hits over 2-month closing high
* Singapore snaps three-session rally
By Soumyajit Saha
July 15 (Reuters) - Philippine shares closed at a more than
16-month high on Monday, after a local daily reported the
central bank may look at further rate cuts, while Indonesia rose
after the government said it was looking to relax laws and taxes
to boost investment.
Most other Southeast Asian stock markets were subdued as
they traded in a tight range.
A bright domestic inflation outlook, alongside dovish
comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chief last week meant the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had greater freedom to further ease
monetary policy, the Philippine Star quoted https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/07/15/1934695/more-room-cut-rates-q3-benjamin-diokno
Governor Benjamin Diokno as saying.
The investor sentiment was further sweetened after the
central bank said May remittances rose 5.7% year-on-year to
$2.609 bln, beating ING estimates of a decline of 1.7%.
Remittances are generally also a steady stream of foreign
currency into a market. Real estate and industrial stocks gained the most on the
Philippine benchmark .PSI . It ended at its highest closing
level since March 13, 2018. Property developer SM Prime Holdings
SMPH.PS rose 3.3%, while conglomerate SM Investments Corp
SM.PS was up 4.9%.
Indonesian stocks .JKSE benefited the most from gains in
financials, with lender Bank Central Asia BBCA.JK rising 1.6%.
Indonesia's recently elected President Joko Widodo on Sunday
promised a slew of measures like increased infrastructure
development to prop up growth in the country. Widodo had hinted at a possible bid to cut the corporate tax
to 20% or below, in an earlier interview with Bloomberg.
"Implementation (of the reforms in Indonesia) will be what
matters, but if tangible progress is made, we are likely to see
an acceleration in direct investment inflows next year, which
should provide BI with flexibility to further cut rates." HSBC
Global Research said in a note to clients.
Singapore's index .STI fell slightly, hurt by losses in
consumer services stocks. Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI fell
about 0.7%, while conglomerate Jardine Cycle & Carriage
JCYC.SI was down 0.9%.
The Malaysian benchmark .KLSE ended slightly up, while
Vietnam index .VNI closed slightly lower.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3347.95 3357.34 -0.28
Bangkok 1727.98 1731.59 -0.21
Manila 8365.29 8141.82 2.74
Jakarta 6418.234 6373.345 0.70
Kuala Lumpur 1672.37 1669.45 0.17
Ho Chi Minh 972.53 975.4 -0.29
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3347.95 3068.76 9.10
Bangkok 1727.98 1563.88 10.49
Manila 8365.29 7,466.02 12.04
Jakarta 6418.234 6,194.50 3.61
Kuala Lumpur 1672.37 1690.58 -1.08
Ho Chi Minh 972.53 892.54 8.96