SINGAPORE, July 4 — Most South-east Asian stock markets fell today tracking Asian peers on caution ahead of the Friday deadline for further US tariffs on China, with Philippine shares snapping a three-session gaining streak on profit-taking.
The Philippine index fell 0.4 per cent as investors booked profits in recent outperformers. Index heavyweight SM Investments Corp, the top gainer in the previous session, fell 0.4 per cent while Jollibee Foods dipped 2.5 per cent.
“Philippine equities were up for the last three days, so there is some profit-taking and (the market is) also taking its cues from the decline in the Dow Jones,” said Manny Cruz, analyst at Asiasec Equities Inc.
Wall Street slipped yesterday while Asian shares, ex-Japan, were about 0.5 per cent lower at 0341 GMT today.
Philippine annual inflation data, due tomorrow, will be closely watched. Inflation likely quickened for a sixth straight month in June, as per a Reuters poll.
“I think inflation has already been factored in ... as long as it's within the target of the central bank,” Cruz added.
Indonesian shares hit a more than 15-month low as material stocks weighed on the benchmark.
Paper manufacturers Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper and Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia, down 7.4 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively, were the biggest drag on the index.
An index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks was up 0.4 per cent.
Singapore stocks fell for a third straight session with consumer staples and financials dragging the index. Lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp slipped 0.6 per cent while Thai Beverage declined nearly 3 per cent.
Vietnam's Ho-Chi-Minh index declined for a third session and lost over 1 per cent in early trade. The index had shed more than 4 per cent in the previous session. — Reuters
