* All eyes on Fed, BOJ, BOE meetings this week
* Investors await cues from China, HK given political
tensions -
analyst
* Philippines weakens most, industrials weigh
By Devika Syamnath
June 17 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets trod
water on Monday as market participants stayed on the sidelines
ahead of a slew of central bank policy meetings, while political
tensions in Hong Kong and the Middle East kept risk appetite in
check.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank Of Japan and the Bank of
England are meeting this week as the case for rate cuts
intensifies amid a prolonged U.S.-China trade dispute that has
dampened growth prospects and sparked fears of a recession.
"Everyone is waiting to see if the central banks can
actually be more dovish on interest rates to support markets,
considering there's a lot of downside risk coming in from the
trade wars," said Joanne Goh, an equity strategist with DBS Bank
Ltd in Singapore.
Meanwhile, activist Joshua Wong, who has become the face of
Hong Kong's push for full democracy, walked free from prison on
Monday and vowed to join a mass protest movement demanding that
the city's Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, steps down.
Considering the political developments in Hong Kong over the
weekend, investors are waiting to see how the China and Hong
Kong markets behave before making any moves, Goh added.
Adding to the bleak geopolitical landscape, tensions
ratcheted in the Middle East after the United States blamed Iran
for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.
Philippine shares .PSI fell the most among Southeast Asian
markets, declining as much as 0.7% to their weakest in over one
week.
Industrials accounted for most of the fall, with JG Summit
Holdings JGS.PS down as much as 2.6%. Banks also dropped with
BDO Unibank Inc BDO.PS declining as much as 1.2%.
"You would have thought it (Philippine market) is resilient,
with domestic demand and strong GDP growth above 6%... but
against slowing growth and unresolved U.S.-China trade war, it
still remains to be seen if the Philippines can be that
resilient in terms of economic growth," said Goh.
Singapore .STI and Indonesia .JKSE were also weaker on
the day, down 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
Singaporean conglomerate Jardine Strategic Holdings JSH.SI
lost as much as 2.4% to a two-week low and led losers in the
benchmark stock index.
In Indonesia, Charoen Pokphand Indonesia CPIN.JK was among
the top losers, down as much as 5.7%.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AT 0420 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3220.52 3222.63 -0.07
Bangkok 1674.39 1672.33 0.12
Manila 7934.12 7990.2 -0.70
Jakarta 6236.853 6250.265 -0.21
Kuala Lumpur 1640.15 1638.63 0.09
Ho Chi Minh 945.27 953.61 -0.87
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3220.52 3068.76 4.95
Bangkok 1674.39 1563.88 7.07
Manila 7934.12 7,466.02 6.27
Jakarta 6236.853 6,194.50 0.68
Kuala Lumpur 1640.15 1690.58 -2.98
Ho Chi Minh 945.27 892.54 5.91