Southeast Asian stocks largely lower

Southeast Asian stocks ended largely lower on Tuesday as overnight weakness on Wall Street and doubts over a production cut by major oil exporters kept risk appetite in check. Indonesia recovered from previous session's losses to climb 0.4 percent, driven by financials and consumer stocks. The country's leading instant noodle maker PT Indofood Sukses Makmur gained 2.7 percent and was among the top gainers.
US stocks declined on Monday, their worst performance in nearly a month, weighed down by a pullback in the financial and consumer discretionary sectors. Sentiment was also affected by doubts that whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will be able to hammer out an output cut deal during a meeting on Wednesday.
Non-Opec oil production giant Russia confirmed it would not attend the Opec gathering, but added that a meeting between the group and non-affiliated producers at a later stage was possible. Vietnam slid more than 1 percent, extending losses into a fourth straight session. Financials and utilities were the biggest drag on the index. "For the rest of the week, considering pressure from net-selling on blue-chips by foreign investors, we believe that bear side will still dominate the (Vietnamese) market," said Tran Minh Hoang, chief economist at Vietcombank Securities in Hanoi.
Philippine stocks declined for a second straight session with telecom dragging the index. Telecom giant PLDT Inc fell as much as 6.4 percent to a near 12-year low. Thailand edged lower after rising as much as 0.6 percent intraday as materials and consumer stocks declined. Thai parliament will invite Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to become the new king following the death of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej last month, the president of the legislative body said on Tuesday.