SE Asia Stocks-Dive as trade war escalates; Philippines drops about 2%
* Indonesian shares touch 10-week low * Singapore shares hit nearly two-month low By Soumyajit Saha Aug 6 (Reuters) - The gloom across Southeast Asian stock markets deepened on Tuesday, with Philippines slipping nearly 2%, as risk appetite took a beating after U.S.-China trade war entered the currencies' space. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday branded China a currency manipulator in a tweet, after the yuan dropped to its lowest valuation in over a decade. Trump had earlier declared 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese products. China's Commerce Ministry added fuel to fire after it said local companies had stopped buying U.S. agricultural products, defying one of Washington's major trade truce condition. Beijing has "unleashed their version of shock and awe by allowing the natural market's reaction for the yuan to weaken" Stephen Innes, managing partner at VM Markets Pte said in a note. A rapidly weakening yuan has "sent a tsunami of risk aversion across global markets leaving a swath of market carnage in its wake," he added. Financial shares weighed the most on the Philippine index , with real estate company Ayala Land falling 2.4% and lender BDO Unibank losing 2.7%. The benchmark index was the biggest loser in the region, falling around 2%. Philippines' July annual inflation slowed to a two-year low on lower food and fuel prices, but roughly matched wider expectations and was within the central bank's projection. The Indonesian index fell to touch a 10-week low, hurt by losses in the banking sector. Bank Central Asia lost 3.2%, while Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) fell about 3.5%. Singapore's benchmark dropped as much as 1.6%, a nearly two-month low, dragged by industrial and financial stocks. Conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings fell 3.6%, while real estate company Hongkong Land Holdings lost 2.6%. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS as on 0354 GMT Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3172.53 3194.51 -0.69 Bangkok 1662.01 1665.99 -0.24 Manila 7735.1 7890.02 -1.96 Jakarta 6127.168 6175.703 -0.79 Kuala Lumpur 1606.49 1610.41 -0.24 Ho Chi Minh 962.66 973.15 -1.08 Change so far in 2019 Market Current End 2018 Pct Move Singapore 3172.53 3068.76 3.38 Bangkok 1662.01 1563.88 6.27 Manila 7735.1 7,466.02 3.60 Jakarta 6127.168 6,194.50 -1.09 Kuala Lumpur 1606.49 1690.58 -4.97 Ho Chi Minh 962.66 892.54 7.86 (Reporting by Soumyajit Saha; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
