Most Southeast Asian stocks markets ended lower on Friday after weak US corporate results, and as statements from the Bank of Japan governor hinting at no plans to expand stimulus programmes hurt investor sentiment. In a BBC interview broadcast on Thursday, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda ruled out the idea of using "helicopter money" to combat deflation, as policymakers in Tokyo gear up to expand existing stimulus programmes.
"Regional markets are taking cues from the decline in Wall Street. Corporate earnings have failed to impress investors, and that has led to a downdip on sentiment in Asian markets," said Manny Cruz, an analyst with Asiasec Equities Inc in Manila. "It seems that plans for further stimulus in Japan have started waning and monetary easing cannot be supported at this time, which resulted in the weakness in our markets. Japan may wait for further cues before engaging in monetary easing," he added. Analysts said investor confidence also took a beating on expectations of a hawkish stance from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen at the FOMC meeting on July 27.
Vietnam fell on profit-taking, falling as much as 2.9 percent intraday. It lost 2.2 percent over the week. Indonesia eased 0.38 percent after its central bank left key rates unchanged on Thursday, against market expectations for another cut. The index gained 1.70 percent on the week. The Philippines fell 0.9 percent, its worst intraday movement in nearly a month. The index posted marginal losses for the week.
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