SE Asia Stocks-Fall as trade war fears dampen global risk appetite
* Philippine shares lose 1 pct, Malaysia down 0.8 pct
* Vietnam hits 11-year high
By Susan Mathew
March 5 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell
on Monday, following weakness in Asian and global shares, after
U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge last week to impose tariffs
on steel and aluminium imports sparked fears of a possible trade
war.
Canada and Mexico have threatened retaliation, while the
European Union said it would apply 25 percent tariffs on about
$3.5 billion of imports from the United States if Trump carried
out his threat.
China does not want a trade war with the United States but
will defend its interests, a senior Chinese diplomat said on
Sunday.
"On paper, net (steel) exporters such as China, Japan, Korea
and Taiwan may hurt most (from the potential imposition of U.S.
tariff) while net importers such as Vietnam, Thailand,
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines may in theory stand to
gain," Mizuho Bank said in a note.
Asia shares ex-Japan were 0.6 percent lower.
In Southeast Asia, Philippine stocks were down 1
percent, as index heavy-weights SM Investments and BDO
Unibank lost 2.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
"It's more sentiment driven today," said April Lee-Tan, head
of research with the Manila-based COL Financial Inc, adding the
Philippines would see minimal impact from the proposed tariffs
as it is not a big exporter of steel.
Singapore shares were on track to post their fifth
straight session of losses, as steel-related stocks weighed on
the index.
Jardine Matheson was 1.6 percent lower, while
Keppel Corp shed 2.2 percent.
Malaysia fell, with aluminium trader Press Metal
Aluminium Holdings dragging down the index with a 10.2
percent drop.
The country's January trade balance data is expected later
in the day, with a Reuters poll showing expectation of an
acceleration.
The Vietnam index, however, hit its highest since
March 2007.
Real estate company Vingroup JSC rose as much as
3.2 percent to a record high, while Vietjet Aviation JSC
climbed as much as 3.7 percent to touch a more than
one-month high.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: CHANGE AT 0353 GMT
Market Current Previous Pct Move
Close
Singapore 3453.74 3479.2 -0.73
Bangkok 1814.79 1811.98 0.16
Manila 8375.55 8458.57 -0.98
Jakarta 6573.506 6582.316 -0.13
Kuala Lumpur 1842.05 1856.07 -0.76
Ho Chi Minh 1128.13 1121.21 0.62
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3453.74 3402.92 1.49
Bangkok 1814.79 1753.71 3.48
Manila 8375.55 8558.42 -2.14
Jakarta 6573.506 6355.654 3.43
Kuala Lumpur 1842.05 1796.81 2.52
Ho Chi Minh 1128.13 984.24 14.62
(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju
Dwarakanath)