South-east Asian stocks lost steam yesterday after a two-day rally as a key deadline in the trade dispute between the US and China loomed.
The public comment period for 25 per cent US tariffs on an additional US$200 billion (S$273 billion) of Chinese products is set to end on Sept 5, with the tariffs expected to be levied late next month.
In addition, the initial euphoria from the US-Mexico agreement died down in the United States as contemplation over Canada's participation set in, noted IG's market strategist Pan Jingyi, leaving the Dow and the S&P 500 index near neutral at Tuesday's market close.
Said FXTM's research analyst Lukman Otunuga: "The breakthrough in Nafta negotiations between the US and Mexico, coupled with optimism over Canada joining the agreement, was certainly a positive step forward to easing trade war fears. However, two steps could be taken back if the Trump administration raises tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods."
Tokyo's Nikkei ended higher with the index enjoying its seventh straight day of gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also ended up, driven by property developers, but a cloudy outlook for trade and economic growth in China put pressure on the Hang Seng China Enterprises index, which fell 0.13 per cent.
Across the Causeway, Malaysian stocks retreated from a three-month high.
In Singapore, the key Straits Times Index ended 0.1 per cent lower at 3,243.92. The bourse began the day higher, but started to dip into the red at 3pm. The trading day ended roughly evenly matched, with 177 gainers to 189 losers, seeing a turnover of 1.28 billion shares worth $817.1 million in total.
The most actively traded counter was Nico Steel with 295.95 million shares traded, flat at 0.2 Singapore cent. Top lender DBS and OCBC Bank both fell for the first time this week. DBS slipped 0.28 per cent to $25.33, while OCBC fell 0.61 per cent to $11.41. UOB, meanwhile, gained 0.33 per cent to $27.43.
Environmental services firm 800 Super continued its nosedive from Tuesday on poor earnings and a competitive operating environment. The stock ended down 18.79 per cent to 67 Singapore cents.
Wing Tai Holdings rose 2.5 per cent to $2.05 on stellar earnings released after Tuesday's market close. The property and retail group delivered a net profit of $129.8 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, up from $9.5 million a year ago, while revenue in Q4 rose 80 per cent to $105.8 million.
