SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian stocks began the week on a sluggish note as rising geopolitical worries soured investor sentiment.
Broader Asian stocks struggled, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling for a third consecutive session, heading back to a three-week low tested on Friday.
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There is a bit of risk-off sentiment after last week's US air strike in Syria and the news saying that the U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier group near the Korean peninsula," said Victor Felix, an equity analyst with AB Capital Securities.
Profit-taking was likely to set in after markets in the region rallied last week, he added.
After the United States launched missile strikes on a Syrian air base alleged to have launched a deadly poison gas attack on Syrian civilians, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that the strikes were a warning to other nations, including North Korea.
A U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula as a show of force, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea's advancing weapons programme.
Thai shares were down 0.2 percent, with industrials and material stocks falling the most.
Energy shares were the only gainers in the region, supported by steady oil prices.
Airports of Thailand Pcl shed 1.3 percent, while PTT Pcl gained 0.3 percent.
Indonesian shares were flat.
Local institutional investors were taking profits, while foreign investors were buying, said Taye Shim, head of research at Jakarta-based Mirae Asset Sekuritas.
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Foreign investors were net building positions in the banking space," Shim added.
Financial stocks gained, with Bank Central Asia Tbk Pt and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk Pt rising 1.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
The index of the region's 45 most liquid stocks fell marginally. - Reuters
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