SE Asia Stocks-Fall in line with Asian peers; U.S. presidential debate awaited

By Suhail Hassan Bhat

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets fell on

Monday, in line with Asian peers, after last week's gains while

investors shifted their attention from central banks to American

politics.

Investors awaited Monday evening's U.S. presidential debate

between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, which will take place

early on Tuesday in Asian time zones, the first of three debates

ahead of the November elections.

If the Republican nominee Donald Trump comes out good in the

debate, it will raise the "uncertainty coefficient because he is

unorthodox", said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist with

Mizuho Corp Bank in Singapore.

Philippine shares were headed for a second straight

session of falls, with financials and industrials leading the

decline.

Property developer SM Prime Holdings Inc fell 0.54

percent, while container terminals operator International

Container Terminal Services Inc dropped 5.5 percent to

its lowest in nearly two weeks.

Singapore shares fell after Friday's gains, weighed

down by industrials and financials. Diversified company Jardine

Matheson Holdings dropped 0.4 percent, while Jardine

Cycle & Carriage Ltd fell 1.34 percent.

Stocks related to the oil and gas sector also declined, as

Saudi Arabia and arch rival Iran were making little progress in

achieving preliminary agreement ahead of talks by major crude

exporters next week aimed at freezing production.

Rig builder Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Industries

fell nearly 1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Investors also awaited industrial production data for August

due later in the day for clues about the domestic economy. A

Reuters poll showed industrial production is expected to have

edged higher from the previous month.

Thai shares were on track for a second straight

session of declines, withered by financials and energy stocks

including PTT Pcl and Siam Commercial Bank.

Malaysia was marginally down after four straight

sessions of gains, Indonesia fell after three

consecutive sessions of rises, and Vietnam was lower

after five consecutive sessions of gains.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

was down 0.1 percent, while Japan's Nikkei stock

index fell 0.5 percent.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0353

GMT

Market Current Previous Pct Move

Close

Singapore 2849.3 2856.95 -0.27

Bangkok 1487.29 1492.88 -0.37

Manila 7650.57 7723.6 -0.95

Jakarta 5359.118 5388.908 -0.55

Kuala Lumpur 1668.33 1670.99 -0.16

Ho Chi Minh 672.16 674.09 -0.29

Change this

year

Market Current End 2015 Pct Move

Singapore 2849.3 2882.73 -1.16

Bangkok 1487.29 1288.02 15.47

Manila 7650.57 6952.08 10.05

Jakarta 5359.118 4593.008 16.68

Kuala Lumpur 1668.33 1692.51 -1.43

Ho Chi Minh 672.16 579.03 16.08

(Reporting by Suhail Bhat; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)