Most Southeast Asian stock markets ended lower on Tuesday as Wall Street's overnight plunge, due to a sell-off in tech shares, and anxiety over a potential trade war between the United States and China muted global sentiment. The losses in US stocks were led by Amazon.com, Tesla and Microsoft, while US-China trade tensions escalated as Beijing warned of counter-measures if the United States imposed further tariffs on Chinese goods.
Over the weekend, China imposed extra tariffs on 128 US products, deepening a dispute between the world's top two economies and stoking concerns about the impact on global growth. Thailand's SET Index was nearly 1 percent lower at its close, with renewable energy firm Energy Absolute Pcl down 12.8 percent, its lowest since August 24.
Oil and gas company PTT Pcl fell 1.1 percent Vietnam shares retreated 0.7 percent from a record close. Vietnam Dairy Products JSC closed 3 percent lower, at a three-week closing low. Singapore shares closed 0.5 percent lower, dragged down by financials. United Overseas Bank Ltd slipped 1.6 percent to its lowest since February 14, while DBS Group Holdings Ltd fell 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, shares in Philippines inched up 0.1 percent, recovering the session's losses to hit a near two-week closing high. "The Philippine market continued with its bargain-hunting as the country is viewed as a safe alternative given the ongoing trade wars," said Luis Limlingan, managing director, Regina Capital Development Corp.
"Some portfolio managers share the view that emerging markets such as our country may be a beneficiary of the trade war." The industrial sector accounted for most of the gains on the index, with SM Investments Corp up 3.2 percent and International Container Terminal Services Inc 2 percent higher.
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