SE Asia Stocks-Most fall; Singapore rises nearly 1 pct

* Singapore up for fifth straight session

* Thailand down after four days of gains

* New round of Sino-U.S. talks awaited

By Shreya Mariam Job

April 3 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell

on Wednesday after the World Trade Organization cut its 2019

trade growth estimate and the Asian Development Bank trimmed its

regional economic growth forecast, while Singapore shares jumped

nearly 1 percent to a near eight-month high.

World trade shrank by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of

2018 and is likely to grow by 2.6 percent this year, below a

previous forecast of 3.7 percent, the World Trade Organization

said on Tuesday.

The Asian Development Bank cut its growth forecast for

Southeast Asia this year to 4.9 percent from 5.1 percent, as the

Manila-based lender expects Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and

Thailand to grow slower than previously thought.

Meanwhile, optimism stemming from positive U.S. and China

manufacturing activity data wore off as investors took a

wait-and-see stance ahead of a new round of Sino-U.S. trade

talks.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the United

States and China "expect to make more headway" in trade talks

this week.

"For today, expect Asian markets to trade with a mixed tone,

after US markets were rather flattish yesterday and they also

await further updates on US-China trade talks," OCBC Bank said

in note.

Singapore stocks extended gains into a fifth session

on the back of financials. DBS Holdings Group Ltd

gained 2.3 percent, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd

firmed 1.7 percent.

Malaysian shares rose for a second straight session,

driven by financial and healthcare stocks. Public Bank Bhd

climbed 1.3 percent and IHH Healthcare Bhd

gained 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Thai shares fell after four straight

sessions of gains, hurt by telecom and real estate stocks.

Vietnam stocks slipped with losses concentrated in

the financial and real estate sectors.

Vinhomes JSC and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial

Bank for Industry and Trade dipped 0.3 percent and 0.4

percent, respectively.

The Indonesian stock market was closed for a

holiday.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS As at 0406 GMT

Change on the day

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3306.15 3279.78 0.80

Bangkok 1649.19 1651.48 -0.14

Manila 7868.7 7879.21 -0.13

Kuala Lumpur 1641.67 1632.83 0.54

Ho Chi Minh 984.35 985.81 -0.15

Change so far in 2019

Market Current End 2018 Pct Move

Singapore 3306.15 3068.76 7.74

Bangkok 1649.19 1563.88 5.46

Manila 7868.7 7,466.02 5.39

Kuala Lumpur 1641.67 1690.58 -2.89

Ho Chi Minh 984.35 892.54 10.29

(Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by

Subhranshu Sahu)