SE Asia Stocks-Bounce back; Indonesia gains 1.8 pct

* Philippine shares recover to close over 1 pct higher

* Indonesia falls 1.4 pct intraday to 15-month trough

By Sumeet Gaikwad

July 4 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets bounced

back from early falls on Wednesday as investors sought bargains

following recent losses fuelled by escalating fears of a

Sino-U.S. trade war.

Indonesian shares snapped two consecutive sessions

of decline and closed 1.8 percent higher after declining 1.4

percent to a 15-month low earlier in the session.

Financials were the top contributors with Bank Central Asia

rising 3 percent and Unilever Indonesia

gaining 4 percent.

Indonesia plans to review the import of capital goods for

big government projects to help manage its current account

deficit, the finance minister said on Tuesday, part of a series

of coordinated policy measures to bolster its financial markets.

Philippine shares recouped early losses to close over

1 percent higher, extending gains into a fourth session.

Real estate and industrial stocks were the top boosts with

SM Prime Holdings and SM Investments Corp

rising 2.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Investors now await annual inflation data due on Thursday

for further cues. Inflation likely quickened for a sixth

straight month in June, a Reuters poll showed, leaving the door

open for a third interest rate hike this year.

"The Philippines has entered bear territory, and valuations

have already gone down below five- and 10-year historical

averages. We are beginning to see some foreign (players) take

advantages of market valuations given that we are significantly

off the highs. So, some bargain hunting is also happening," said

Lexter Azurin, an analyst with AB Capital Securities.

Foreign investors bought Philippine equities worth 449.8

million pesos ($8.43 million) on Wednesday, stock exchange data

showed.

Financials helped Singapore shares rise 0.3 percent

after declining in the previous two sessions. United Overseas

Bank closed 1.6 percent higher.

Meanwhile, the central bank chief warned that risks to the

global growth outlook have increased significantly, due to an

intensifying international trade row and the rising prospect of

a rapid acceleration in inflation.

Vietnam shares rose 1 percent, helped by real estate

stocks, after shedding more than 4 percent in the previous

session.

Vinhomes JSC jumped about 7 percent, while Vingroup

JSC closed 5.3 percent higher.

Thai stocks rose for a third consecutive session to

a one-week high. Financial and telecom stocks helped the

benchmark index gain with Airports of Thailand climbing

over 1 percent.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3244.89 3235.9 0.28

Bangkok 1629.2 1626.62 0.16

Manila 7348.42 7267.34 1.12

Jakarta 5733.639 5633.937 1.77

Kuala Lumpur 1688.45 1680.37 0.48

Ho Chi Minh 914.99 906.01 0.99

Change on year

Market Current End 2017 Pct Move

Singapore 3244.89 3402.92 -4.64

Bangkok 1629.2 1753.71 -7.10

Manila 7348.42 8558.42 -14.14

Jakarta 5733.639 6355.654 -9.79

Kuala Lumpur 1688.45 1796.81 -6.03

Ho Chi Minh 914.99 984.24 -7.04

(Reporting by Sumeet Gaikwad in Bengaluru; Additional reporting

by Aditya Soni and Gaurav Dogra; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)