Most Southeast Asian stock markets edged down for a second day on Tuesday with Malaysia falling to a more than two-month closing low as investors waited for cues from a US Federal Reserve meeting and a German ruling on the euro zone's new bailout fund. Malaysia fell 0.4 percent to its lowest close since July 4, led by financials with large-cap CIMB Group Holdings Bhd losing 1.6 percent.
"Investors are still waiting to see what is happening outside and they are not really keen to rush back to the market," said Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB, based in Singapore. The Fed may decide on a third round of bond buying or quantitative easing (QE3) at its two-day meeting starting on Wednesday, while Europe faces another testing week as it seeks to pull itself out from its debt woes. Thailand lost 0.2 percent, while Indonesia and the Philippines eased 0.1 percent each. Vietnam, the region's smallest bourse, fell 0.6 percent to a two-week low. Bucking the trend, Singapore gained 0.3 percent.