Global trade war concerns hurt most S-E Asian stocks; Singapore rises

The Philippines stocks fell on Tuesday on the peso’s continued slide coupled with renewed trade war concerns, while Singapore extended gains for a fifth session thanks to “window dressing” attempts by portfolio managers ahead of the third quarter close. Broader Asian stocks struggled as the latest round of US-China tariffs revived fears the trade dispute would knock global growth, with neither side looking to be in a mood to compromise.

MSCI’s broadest index of APAC shares outside Japan edged down 0.3 per cent.

“The failure of China and the US to come to terms on the negotiation table ... is creating weakness in major economies in Asia, and has resulted in most Southeast Asian equities to retreat from what they gained last week,” said Manny Cruz, a Manila-based analyst at Asiasec Equities Inc. 

Filippino stocks fell the most in the region, down about 0.7 per cent after two days of gains, with financials and real-estate stocks weighing on the index.

“Weakness on the peso and the expectations of higher inflation for the month of September are two factors that dragged market sentiment,” analyst Cruz said.