SE Asia Stocks-Most fall tracking Wall Street ahead of U.S. jobs data
* Indonesia shares slide 1.4 pct
* Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk PT biggest drag on Indonesian
shares
* Philippines bucks trend
By Aditya Soni
May 3 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets slid on
Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors turned
cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data, while Philippines continued to
rally after S&P Global raised the country's credit rating
earlier this week.
Indonesian shares led losses in the region after all three
major U.S. stock indexes closed lower on Thursday as
risk-sentiment dipped in the wake of reduced hopes of a rate cut
by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year. Investors now wait await
U.S. employment data due later in the day.
"Global risk appetite has turned more sober post-FOMC as
traders digested Powell's 'transient' inflation trajectory and
are awaiting tonight's key U.S. nonfarm payrolls, unemployment
and wage data," OCBC Bank analysts said in a client note.
Indonesian shares dropped 1.4 percent to a near
four-month low on broad-based selling.
"With the lower chances of Fed cutting rates, investors are
now beginning to factor in the probability of Indonesia's
central bank delaying the interest rate cut," said Taye Shim,
head of research at Mirae Asset Sekuritas.
"We are expecting 50 basis points (cut), some are even
expecting 75 basis points within this year. But that kind of
expectation is fading away and if that is the case it will have
immediate impact on the overall prices including equities," he
added.
Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk PT slumped 19.7 percent
to its lowest since June 21 and was the biggest drag on the
benchmark for a second straight session.
Singapore shares shed 0.4 percent, with UOL Group Ltd
hitting a more than two-week low, while
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd saw its worst
day since November 2018.
Malaysian shares fell to a more than one-week low,
while Vietnam shares saw their worst day in nearly two
weeks.
Bucking the trend, the Philippines benchmark index
firmed to its highest level since Feb. 14, and was on track for
a fourth straight session of gains.
S&P Global upgraded the country's long-term rating to "BBB+"
on strong growth trajectory after market hours on Tuesday.
"The credit rating upgrade is exactly the catalyst the
market had been waiting for," said Garie Ouano, research
Director at China Bank Securities.
Gains were broad-based, with index-heavyweight BDO Unibank
Inc rising to a near three-month high, while
International Container Terminal Services Inc scaled a
record peak.
For Asian Companies click;
SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS AT 0332 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3379.58 3393.33 -0.41
Bangkok 1679.46 1679.17 0.02
Manila 8067.63 8001.57 0.83
Jakarta 6288.482 6374.422 -1.35
Kuala Lumpur 1630.92 1632.24 -0.08
Ho Chi Minh 975.75 978.5 -0.28
Change on year
Market Current End 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3379.58 3068.76 10.13
Bangkok 1679.46 1563.88 7.39
Manila 8067.63 7466.02 8.06
Jakarta 6288.482 6194.498 1.52
Kuala Lumpur 1630.92 1690.58 -3.53
Ho Chi Minh 975.75 892.54 9.32
(Reporting by Aditya Soni; Editing by Shreejay Sinha)
