* Indonesia set for second straight week of losses
* China retail sales fell 7.5% vs forecast of 7%
* Thai shares flat
By Pranav A K
May 15 (Reuters) - Philippine shares dropped more than 1% on
Friday, dragged down by the financial sector, while stocks in
Indonesia hit an over three-week low after data showed that
Southeast Asia's largest economy swung back to a trade deficit
in April.
Markets in the region were also pressured by worsening
Sino-U.S. relations over the new coronavirus, as President
Donald Trump said he had no interest in speaking to his Chinese
counterpart Xi Jinping right now and suggested that he could
even cut ties with China.
"As the US faces the worst of the health crisis, President
Trump's attempts at deflection seem likely to engender hawkish
policy towards China, threatening business relations and the
trade outcomes of 2019," ANZ Research said.
Banking stocks, which have seen their profits shrink due to
the pandemic, dominated the losses in the Philippines .PSI ,
with Metro Pacific Investments MPI.PS and BDO Unibank BDO.PS
falling 2.2% and 1.2%, respectively.
Indonesian shares .JKSE were 0.4% lower, having fallen as
much as 1.2% earlier. The country's $350 million trade deficit
in April was larger than the $200 million gap expected in a
Reuters poll, as exports and imports plunged. The country's benchmark was poised for its second straight
weekly loss.
Further weighing on sentiment, retail sales in China, the
region's biggest trade partner, fell by 7.5% in April, compared
with a forecast 7.0% fall, even as industrial production data
came in better than expected. "I believe the market is chasing its tail increasingly and
the retail sales has given the short term negative ascendency,"
senior market analyst at OANDA Jeffrey Halley said.
Stocks in Vietnam .VNI ticked lower, while Thai shares
.SETI were little changed as energy stocks lent support on the
back of higher oil prices.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian benchmark index .KLSE added 0.6%
and was set for a third straight session of gains, helped by
industrial stocks.
Shares of MISC Bhd MISC.KL rose 2.6%, while Sime Darby Bhd
SIME.KL gained 2.1%.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AS AT 0405 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 2526.65 2522.31 0.17
Bangkok 1280.67 1280.4 0.02
Manila 5586.46 5654.7 -1.21
Jakarta 4492.933 4513.834 -0.46
Kuala Lumpur 1404.96 1397.25 0.55
Ho Chi Minh 829.02 832.4 -0.41
Change so far in 2020
Market Current End 2019 Pct Move
Singapore 2526.65 3222.83 -21.60
Bangkok 1280.67 1579.84 -18.94
Manila 5586.46 7,815.26 -28.52
Jakarta 4492.933 6,299.54 -28.68
Kuala Lumpur 1404.96 1588.76 -11.57
Ho Chi Minh 829.02 960.99 -13.73