SE Asia Stocks-Lower; Philippines slides as U.S. alliance worries persist

By Sandhya Sampath

Oct 26 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets were lower

on Wednesday tracking regional peers, led by the Philippines

after President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out anew at the United

States.

Philippine shares declined more than 1 percent, in a

fifth straight session of losses, dragged down by consumer

staples and financials, with conglomerate Ayala Land Inc

losing 1.2 percent.

Investors continue to be jittery as Duterte expressed his

resentment at having foreign troops in the Philippines and told

the U.S. to forget the bilateral defence deal if he stayed in

power long enough.

The comments came right before his trip to U.S. ally Japan,

a big investor in the Philippines that is becoming nervous about

its apparent leanings towards rival power China.

Duterte's delegation to Japan expects to bring home

private-sector deals worth around $2 billion, the BusinessWorld

daily reported online on Tuesday, citing the Philippines' trade

secretary.

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

slid 0.8 percent.

"Oil prices are softer and U.S. markets closed on the back

foot which also makes Asian equity markets look not particularly

upbeat," said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist with

Singapore-based Mizuho Corporate Bank.

The Singapore Index fell 0.7 percent, in a second

session of losses, weighed down by energy and industrials.

Oil rig builders Sembcorp Industries Ltd and

Keppel Corp Ltd fell 3.5 percent and 1 percent,

respectively, as crude oil prices fell more than a percent on a

report showing a surge in U.S. inventories.

Sembcorp Industries was the biggest loser on the index.

Singapore's industrial production in September grew much

better-than-expected, led by increases in electronics and

pharmaceuticals output, but market reaction to the growth was

muted.

Thai shares, which fell 0.3 percent, were also hurt

by lower oil prices, with oil and natural gas refiner PTT

Exploration and Production Public Co Ltd falling 1.5

percent, while Airports of Thailand Public Co Ltd fell

0.3 percent.

Malaysian stocks and Indonesia lost

marginally, while Vietnam stocks were 0.4 percent lower.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0520 GMT

Market Current Previous Close Pct Move

Singapore 2831.23 2854.05 -0.80

Bangkok 1502.82 1506.47 -0.24

Manila 7499.73 7580.22 -1.06

Jakarta 5391.944 5397.821 -0.11

Kuala Lumpur 1674.27 1677.43 -0.19

Ho Chi Minh 673.49 676.18 -0.40

Change on year

Market Current End prev yr Pct Move

Singapore 2831.23 2882.73 -1.79

Bangkok 1502.82 1288.02 16.68

Manila 7499.73 6952.08 7.88

Jakarta 5391.944 4593.008 17.39

Kuala Lumpur 1674.27 1692.51 -1.08

Ho Chi Minh 673.49 579.03 16.31

(Reporting by Sandhya Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha

Gayathri)