Southeast Asian stock markets saw broad-based declines on Friday, with Indonesia and Singapore falling over 1 percent each, as the continuing standoff between the US and North Korea kept investors on edge. Fresh bouts of fiery rhetoric came as US President Donald Trump warned North Korea again not to strike Guam or its allies, saying his earlier threat may not have been tough enough.
"If the war of words escalates into a military engagement, our estimates suggest a derailing of global growth, led by a fall in both trade volumes and asset prices," said Barnabas Gan, an economist at OCBC Bank. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan skid 1.6 percent, its biggest one-day loss since mid-December, while Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight.
Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index ended down 1.3 percent, marking its biggest percentage loss since October 2016. It ended the week 1.4 percent lower. A better-than-expected revision to second-quarter economic growth in the city-state and a 1.9 percent rise in June retail sales failed to boost sentiment. Financials and consumer goods led the decline, with DBS Group Holdings Ltd ending 2.2 percent lower, while Thai Beverage PCL lost 1.6 percent.
Indonesia snapped three days of gains to end 1 percent lower, posting its worst day since December 2016. The index shed 0.2 percent this week. Financials and consumer stocks were the biggest drag on the index with Bank Central Asia Tbk PT ending 0.8 percent lower. The Philippine stock index fell for a fourth day, ending 0.5 percent lower, and was down marginally for the week.
Financials and utilities were the hardest hit, with Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc closing 2.6 percent lower. Vietnam closed slightly lower after a fourth session of losses. The index shed 2.1 percent this week.
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