* Singapore at over one-month low
* Thai shares inch up after posting a trade surplus in June
* Vietnam snaps a streak of three straight monthly losses
By Anushka Trivedi
July 31 (Reuters) - Singapore and Philippines lost over 1%
each on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to
China and their subsequent retaliation unnerved equities, while
caution ahead of the Fed's policy decision also weighed on the
indexes.
Amid the latest round of dialogue between the two countries
in Shanghai, China's foreign ministry blamed the United States
for flip-flopping in bilateral trade negotiations over the past
year, after Trump accused Beijing of waiting out his current
presidential term to strike a trade deal. The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision is due later in
the day, where a 25 bps point cut is all but insured. However,
the market is anxiously eyeing whether the central bank will
leave the door open for further policy easing.
"The mini roller coaster ride is expected to continue as the
two competing narratives, the dovish Fed and trade war doubts
jockey for position ahead of FOMC," said Stephen Innes, managing
partner at VM Markets Pte.
Singapore shares .STI , which are extremely sensitive to
developments in the U.S.-China trade war, closed at their lowest
in a over a month amid broad-based losses.
Shares of industrial conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings
Ltd JARD.SI were among the biggest drag on the index.
For July, the index ended 0.5% lower.
Manufacturers in the city-state are facing the doldrums,
which clearly reflects an erosion of business confidence as
global trade tensions persist, OCBC said in a note, and added
that it expects the third-quarter to remain challenging for the
sector.
Philippines .PSI saw its worst trading session in over two
months on weakness in real estate stocks, but managed to log
fifth straight monthly gain.
Property developer SM Prime Holdings SMPH.PS and Ayala
Land Inc ALI.PS shaved over 2.5% each, while a fall in
electricity retailer Aboitiz Power Corp's shares AP.PS after
poor second-quarter results also pressured the main board.
Meanwhile, Vietnam shares .VNI rose 0.6% to snap a streak
of three monthly losses in a row.
Upbeat second-quarter earnings of Vietnam's largest listed
firm Vingroup JSC VIC.HM and state-run lender Vietinbank
CTG.HM aided the main board. Thai shares inched up .SETI after it clocked a trade
surplus of $4.4 billion for June, but ended the month 1.1%
lower.
The Indonesian benchmark .JKSE closed little changed.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3300.75 3350.54 -1.49
Bangkok 1711.97 1706.49 0.32
Manila 8045.8 8150.46 -1.28
Jakarta 6390.505 6376.996 0.21
Kuala Lumpur 1634.87 1642.69 -0.48
Ho Chi Minh 991.66 986.02 0.57
Change so far in 2019
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3300.75 3068.76 7.56
Bangkok 1711.97 1563.88 9.47
Manila 8045.8 7,466.02 7.77
Jakarta 6390.505 6,194.50 3.16
Kuala Lumpur 1634.87 1690.58 -3.30
Ho Chi Minh 991.66 892.54 11.11