South Asian stock-Philippines report reaches its highest level in 15 months

                * GDP growth in China in the second quarter was the weakest in 27 years
* Indonesia's trade balance in June is lagging behind expectations

By Soumyajit Saha
July 15 (Reuters) - Filipino stocks jumped
1.5% Monday at their highest level for more than 15 months, after a
A local daily reported more opportunities for policy easing citing
senior central bank official, while Indonesian equities were down.
was heading to a fourth in five earnings session.
The Philippine Star newspaper quoted here
the governor of the central bank, Benjamin Diokno, said dovish
comments from the president of the US Federal Reserve last week,
coupled with a recent rise in the outlook for domestic inflation,
had provided more space to reduce rates.
"All eyes" were on the governor's comments, said Fio
Dejesus, equity research badyst at RCBC Securities.
"There is also a bit of optimism at the dawn of the second quarter,
because the first quarter GDP was not exceptional, "he added.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has reduced its reference interest
rate of 25 basis points in May to support growth after the
The economy weakened more than expected in the first quarter.

Risk sentiment has also been favored by the prospects for continued
economic recovery of China after its economic growth in June
slowed to the lowest for at least 27 years.
"There can be no denying that trade tensions are manifesting
the house to perch in a very real way. In response, we expect that
China will release an effective and targeted combination of
fiscal and monetary easing to avoid adverse shocks ", Mizuho Bank
says in a note to customers.
Large caps were the biggest winners in the Philippines, with
real estate developer SM Prime Holdings up 1.7%, while
the SM Investments Corp conglomerate added 4.3%.
Financial and consumer stocks were the biggest winners in Indonesia,
Bank Central Asia Tbk up 1%, while cigarette
maker Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna soared 1.7%
Meanwhile, the data showed that the June trade balance was below
expectations.
Thai equities rose slightly, thanks to gains in
energy stocks.
Malaysian shares fell slightly, while Singapore
Negotiated stocks on the side.

For Asian companies, click.

SOUTH-EAST ASIAN ACQUISITION MARKETS AT 0346 GMT

Current market Back close Pct Move
Singapore 3353.09 3357.34 -0.13
Bangkok 1733.28 1731.59 0.10
Manila 8267.42 8141.82 1.54
Jakarta 6415.265 6373.345 0.66
Kuala Lumpur 1667.64 1669.45 -0.11
Ho Chi Minh 975.06 975.4 -0.03

Change until now in 2019
Current market end 2018 Pct Move
Singapore 3353.09 3068.76 9.27
Bangkok 1733.28 1563.88 10.83
Manila 8267.42 7,466.02 10.73
Jakarta 6415.265 6,194.50 3.56
Kuala Lumpur 1667.64 1690.58 -1.36
Ho Chi Minh 975.06 892.54 9.25

(Report by Soumyajit Saha, edited by Subhranshu Sahu)