* Thailand top loser with 0.8% drop
* Philippines down for fifth session
* Vietnam reverses course to end lower
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Sept 23 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets closed
lower on Monday as a trade deal between the United States and
China appeared to be elusive following mixed signals from
recently concluded negotiations.
U.S. and Chinese officials described deputy-level talks that
ended in Washington last week as "productive" and
"constructive", but Chinese officials unexpectedly cancelled a
visit to U.S. farms, denting investor sentiment. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that he
wanted a complete trade deal, not just an agreement for China to
buy more U.S. agricultural goods. "Challenges to achieving a comprehensive deal remain, such
as the issues of intellectual property and their enforcement,
the amount of purchases by China and whether and when existing
tariffs will be rolled back," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in
a client note.
Thai shares .SETI slipped 0.8%, extending losses into a
fourth session, on weakness in telecom and financial stocks.
Kasikornbank Pcl KBANK.BK and telco firm Intouch Holdings Pcl
INTUCH.BK shed 1.2% and 5.5%, respectively.
Traders now await August manufacturing data, due on Tuesday,
for further clues about the domestic economy. Manufacturing
output likely dropped at a faster pace in August than in the
previous month, a Reuters poll showed. Singapore shares .STI , which are sensitive to trade
developments, fell 0.5%, with financial and consumer stocks
accounting for most of the losses.
Singapore Exchange SGXL.SI dropped as much as 1.6% to a
near three-week low following a rating downgrade by brokerage
firm Jefferies, while DBS Group Holdings DBSM.SI dipped 1%.
The city-state's core inflation gauge in August remained at
a 3-year low, data showed, reinforcing expectations for policy
easing this year. Philippine shares .PSI fell as much as 0.6% before cutting
losses on the back of financial and consumer stocks. The index
closed lower for a fifth straight session, shedding 0.1% on
Monday.
Investors now wait for a central bank policy meeting on
Thursday, where Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is expected to cut
interest rates for a third time this year, according to a
Reuters poll, to support economic growth. "Monetary stimulus is still very much expected but what
people are looking for is for the Philippines to maintain an
above 6% GDP growth strength, and that is key for foreign
inflows," said Rachelle C Cruz, analyst at Manila-based AP
Securities.
Vietnam stocks .VNI reversed course to drop 0.5%, dragged
by financial and real estate names, while telecoms pushed the
Indonesian index .JKSE 0.4% lower.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3143.24 3159.68 -0.52
Bangkok 1622.79 1636.2 -0.82
Manila 7867.51 7871.11 -0.05
Jakarta 6206.199 6231.473 -0.41
Kuala Lumpur 1592.93 1597.41 -0.28
Ho Chi Minh 985.75 990.36 -0.47
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3143.24 3068.76 2.43
Bangkok 1622.79 1563.88 3.77
Manila 7867.51 7,466.02 5.38
Jakarta 6206.199 6,194.50 0.19
Kuala Lumpur 1592.93 1690.58 -5.78
Ho Chi Minh 985.75 892.54 10.44