* Singapore slips after 1.5% gain on Monday
* Investors cautious after weak PMI data - analyst
* Most trading volumes at fraction of 30-day average
By Rashmi Ashok
July 2 (Reuters) - Singapore shares fell on Tuesday with
most other Southeast Asian stock markets remaining subdued, as
worries over weakening manufacturing activity and slowing
economic growth hit risk appetite and dimmed enthusiasm around
the Sino-U.S. trade truce.
A host of disappointing manufacturing activity data for June
from various countries spoke tales of slowing economies, with
activity across U.S. and Europe sharply slowing. Investors kept to the sidelines awaiting further catalysts,
with trading volumes of across most regions at just a fraction
of their 30-day average.
Singapore's index .STI fell 0.6%, after a massive 1.5%
gain in the previous session, its highest in nearly two months.
The index rose 8.1% in the last one month. Most large-cap stocks
saw some profit taking, with Venture Corp VENM.SI down 1.9%
and lender DBS Group Holdings DBSM.SI giving up 0.5%.
"Investors are being cautious because economic data, such as
PMIs, have been weak," said Liu Jinshu, director of research at
Tayrona Financial Pte Ltd.
"Hence, attention is turning towards the earnings season
with investors looking for cues from major companies such as the
large semiconductor companies," he added.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's index .KLSE was the sole region
which managed to post modest gains, rising 0.6%. Oil and gas
refiner Petronas Dagangan PETR.KL added 1.2% while electric
utilities provider Tenaga Nasional TENA.KL rose 1.3%.
Investors appeared to shrug off Monday's data, which showed
the country's June manufacturing activity slipping. Analysts
were of the view that the current challenges to Malaysia's
manufacturing sector would likely change course soon.
"The challenging environments are expected to be
short-lived, as businesses became more optimistic towards the
future. Sentiment about the outlook has strengthened to its
highest since October 2013," MIDF Research said in a note.
"The recent positive development in the U.S.-China trade
tensions supports the expectation. We anticipate that the
economy will grow better in 2Q19 onwards," MIDF added.
The Indonesian benchmark .JKSE inched higher, with
cigarette maker Gudang Garam Tbk GGRM.JK and telecom company
Indosat Tbk ISAT.JK rising 1.7% and 1%, respectively.
Philippine stocks .PSI also rose, helped by gains in
conglomerates such as SM Investments Corp SM.PS and telco
Globe Telecom Inc GLO.PS .
Thailand's index .SETI slipped, as falling energy prices
put pressure on its heavyweight energy stocks. Vietnam's .VNI
index also traded lower.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS at 0343 GMT
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3353.32 3372.26 -0.56
Bangkok 1736.61 1740.91 -0.25
Manila 8073.13 8043.71 0.37
Jakarta 6385.975 6379.688 0.10
Kuala Lumpur 1692.87 1683.62 0.55
Ho Chi Minh 963.14 965.61 -0.26
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3353.32 3068.76 9.27
Bangkok 1736.61 1563.88 11.04
Manila 8073.13 7,466.02 8.13
Jakarta 6385.975 6,194.50 3.09
Kuala Lumpur 1692.87 1690.58 0.14
Ho Chi Minh 963.14 892.54 7.91