SE Asia Stocks-Fall as weak U.S. manufacturing data spurs global growth slowdown fears
By Shreya Mariam Job Oct 2 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday, tracking broader global markets as weak U.S. manufacturing data stoked fears of a global economic slowdown and reignite concern over the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. manufacturing activity tumbled to a more than 10-year low in September as lingering trade tensions weighed on exports. The news dragged most of the regional indexes to post losses of more than 1 percent. Joel Ng, an analyst at KGI securities said: "The moves are a bit more exaggerated because of lower liquidity." The Philippine index slumped 1.7% closing at a near four and a half month low following a large sell-off in the last 10 minutes of trade. Real estate and financial stocks weighed on the index, with top property stocks SM Prime Holdings and Ayala Land Inc shedding 1.8% and 2.4% respectively while BDO Unibank Inc dropped 4.5%. This comes after Philippines Central Bank Governor Benjamin Diokno said he would rather online gambling operators left the country. These firms known in Philippines as POGOs (Philippine offshore gambling operators) have been vital in drawing Chinese tourists to the country, boosting property demand and retail spending. However, the central bank chief said banning online gambling will have little impact on the Philippines economy. Singapore stocks shed 1.5% hurt by financials. DBS Group Holdings Ltd shed 1.9%, while its smaller lending peer United Overseas Bank dropped 1.8%. Indonesian shares deepened the fall over the session to end 1.4% lower, with bigger losses mainly among financials and materials stocks. An index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks fell 1.9%. Bank Mandiri Tbk Pt dropped as much as 5.8% to its lowest level in more than 11 months. Financial and industrial stocks pushed the Thai benchmark stock index 0.7% lower, with Airports of Thailand slipping 1.7% and Kasikornbank dipping 2.6%. Kasirkonbank said it will start giving digital loans to sellers on Sea Ltd's e-commerce business Shopee, in the bank's latest digital partnership. However, Thai bank earnings have been under pressure from a digital transaction fee waiver last year and slowing loan growth. Elsewhere, real estate and financials dragged Vietnam stocks , while Malaysian stocks were dragged lower by financial and consumer stocks. For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on the day Market Current Previous close Pct Move Singapore 3098.52 3146.03 -1.51 Bangkok 1612.6 1624.09 -0.71 Manila 7610.68 7739.86 -1.67 Jakarta 6055.425 6138.25 -1.35 Kuala Lumpur 1574.9 1589.44 -0.91 Ho Chi Minh 991.19 999.59 -0.84 Change so far in 2019 Market Current End 2018 Pct Move Singapore 3098.52 3068.76 0.97 Bangkok 1612.6 1563.88 3.12 Manila 7610.68 7,466.02 1.94 Jakarta 6055.425 6,194.50 -2.25 Kuala Lumpur 1574.9 1690.58 -6.84 Ho Chi Minh 991.19 892.54 11.05 (Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
