Aug 1 (Reuters) - Asian stocks posted marginal gains in July after two straight months of declines as strong second-quarter earnings bolstered regional shares amid simmering trade tensions between China and the United States.
In July, the MSCI Asia-ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000US rose 0.67 percent, marking its first monthly gain since April.
Thai shares .SETI and Philippine .PSI stocks advanced about 6.5 percent during July, while Indian shares .NSEI gained 6 percent.
Thomson Reuters data showed that 53.6 percent of Asian companies have exceeded or met the consensus analyst forecasts for the second quarter earnings so far.
South Korean stocks .KS11 lagged others in the region, with a fall of 1.33 percent in July.
New Zealand, India and Australia stocks have the highest price-earnings ratio based on 12-month forward earnings in Asia, according to Thomson Reuters data.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Asia Pacific equities performance in July 2018
https://reut.rs/2LFX0K3 Asia Pacific equities performance in 2018
https://reut.rs/2M8cd2v Asia Pacific equities valuations
https://reut.rs/2mZHxWn
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