SINGAPORE - Southeast Asian markets fell yesterday as nervous investors sold blue chips such as Singapore Airlines ahead of a slate of earnings reports by US financials this week.

Analysts said the reports from US banks such as JPMorgan Chase will give a clearer indication on whether the worst of the subprime fallout is over.

The Singapore benchmark index fell by 2.68 percent to its lowest level this month, trailing sharper drops in Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. But it stayed above the pyschological 3,000 mark at 3042.96.

Malaysia fell by a more modest 1.07 percent as planters erased last week’s gains, while Indonesia declined 1.37 percent on banks. The Philippine index was down 0.77 percent.

Some technical analysts believe global financial markets, including those in Southeast Asia, may have already bottomed out.

"A lot of the evidence we’re getting now is suggesting that the low is in place and are looking for perhaps at another re-test this quarter of those lows," said Paul

Thailand and Vietnam’s stock markets were closed on Monday for national holidays.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index posted its seventh consecutive decline in the past two weeks of trading shedding 0.77 percent, 22.71 points, to 2,918.27.

Losers overwhelmed gainers 73 to 20 with 39 stocks unchanged.

Trading turnover reached P2.05 billion.

"We’ve been going down quite a bit in the past days but if you look closer you will see that were are not in that very bad a shape," said I. Ackerman & Co., Inc. president Irvin I. Ackerman.

"The worst may have been over for the market," he added.

Ackerman noted that despite yesterday’s drop foreign funds has posted a net buying of about P107 million, which "augurs well" for the general market sentiment.

Ackerman noted the in yesterday’s trading about 75 percent of the value turnover was contributed by foreign funds, which suggests, "that many local brokers are suffering because of the current crisis."

Chelsea Dipasupil, RCBC Securities, Inc. research head, noted that many investors remain wary about the market’ s direction "waiting for lower levels" to occur despite current effort by the market to stay afloat."

Jose L. Vistan, Jr., AB Capital Securities, Inc. research head, said that the GE performance could suggest that the situation could be worse for lesser-known companies.