Most Southeast Asian stocks down; Philippines hits three week high

Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended down on Monday in the absence of catalysts, with the Chinese and US markets closed for holidays. Philippine shares, however, eked out a 0.2 percent gain to close at a near three-week high. Investors remained on the sidelines in Southeast Asia as they await China's factory activity data due later in the week, said Victor Felix, an equity analyst with Manila-based AB Capital Securities.
Factory activity in China is expected to have grown at its slowest pace in eight months, a Reuters poll showed, as previous stimulus fades and policymakers focus on tackling rising debt - a sign the cooldown in manufacturing will persist through 2017.
Earlier in the day, North Korea fired at least one short-range ballistic missile that landed in the sea off its east coast, but did little to jar investor sentiment. Asian stocks excluding Japan were down about 0.2 percent after rising earlier in the session following gains on Wall Street, which hovered around record highs on Friday.
Malaysia ended 0.4 percent lower, dragged by chemical producer Petronas Chemicals Group falling as much as 2 percent. Singapore shares dropped 0.2 percent, as losses in consumer goods stocks such as Wilmar International Ltd and Thai Beverage Pcl wiped out gains in index heavyweights DBS Group Holdings and Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd. The Jakarta SE Composite index was pulled slightly under by telecommunication giant PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk dipping as much as 2.5 percent.
Philippine shares closed at their highest since May 9, driven by real estate stocks. SM Prime Holdings hit a record high, while Ayala Land climbed to its highest in more than nine months. Selective buying of property stocks lifted the index, said Jeffrey Lucero, an equity research analyst with RCBC Securities, adding: "hopefully, we will still see some signs of foreign buying into this week." Thai stocks lost about 0.1 percent, while Vietnam ended up 0.4 percent, continuing to hover around nine-year highs, led by gains in energy stocks.