Southeast Asian stocks settle lower

Southeast Asian stock markets settled lower on Monday as investors exercised caution ahead of key central bank policy meetings later this week, while political ructions in the Middle East and Hong Kong stifled risk appetite across the region.
Investors would look for clues on global policy narrative from the US Federal Reserve, the Bank Of Japan and the Bank of England meetings this week, as the case for easy money strengthens against the backdrop of slowing global growth amid a prolonged US-China trade dispute.
While most are expecting a US Fed rate cut in July, "we are looking at September because the US economy is actually not too bad," said Joanne Goh, an equity strategist with DBS Bank Ltd.
Recent strength in US retail sales numbers undermined the urgency for a rate cut and the Fed is seen leaving borrowing costs unchanged this week, though possibly laying the groundwork for a rate cut later this year.
Fanning wider tensions, massive protests continued in Hong Kong, calling for Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam to step down over an extradition bill. Tensions spiked in the Middle East after the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.
The Philippine index closed over 1% lower. The benchmark clocked its fourth straight weekly gain on Friday. Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings was the top loser, down 3.5%.
"(Philippines) had a strong move above 8,000 in the last two weeks... some profit taking is going on," said Goh.
With domestic demand and strong GDP growth above 6%, you would think its quite resilient but with slowing growth and unresolved US-China trade war, it remains to be seen if Philippines can be that resilient in terms of economic growth, Goh added.
The Singapore benchmark finished 0.4% lower, with industrials Jardine Matheson Holdings and Jardine Strategic Holdings leading declines. The stocks lost 3.2% and 2.4%, respectively. Singapore's weak export data released on Monday prompted economists to raise bets on the prospect of monetary easing later this year.
Indonesia's index closed down 1%, with telecom stocks and consumer staples claiming most losses. Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Persero) was the biggest weight on the main index, down 2.3%.