By Devika Syamnath

(Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets trod water on Monday as market participants stayed on the sidelines ahead of a slew of central bank policy meetings, while political tensions in Hong Kong and the Middle East kept risk appetite in check.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank Of Japan and the Bank of England are meeting this week as the case for rate cuts intensifies amid a prolonged U.S.-China trade dispute that has dampened growth prospects and sparked fears of a recession.

"Everyone is waiting to see if the central banks can actually be more dovish on interest rates to support markets, considering there's a lot of downside risk coming in from the trade wars," said Joanne Goh, an equity strategist with DBS Bank Ltd in Singapore.

Meanwhile, activist Joshua Wong, who has become the face of Hong Kong's push for full democracy, walked free from prison on Monday and vowed to join a mass protest movement demanding that the city's Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, steps down.

Considering the political developments in Hong Kong over the weekend, investors are waiting to see how the China and Hong Kong markets behave before making any moves, Goh added.

Adding to the bleak geopolitical landscape, tensions ratcheted in the Middle East after the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.

Philippine shares <.PSI> fell the most among Southeast Asian markets, declining as much as 0.7% to their weakest in over one week.

Industrials accounted for most of the fall, with JG Summit Holdings down as much as 2.6%. Banks also dropped with BDO Unibank Inc declining as much as 1.2%.

"You would have thought it (Philippine market) is resilient, with domestic demand and strong GDP growth above 6%... but against slowing growth and unresolved U.S.-China trade war, it still remains to be seen if the Philippines can be that resilient in terms of economic growth," said Goh.

Singapore <.STI> and Indonesia <.JKSE> were also weaker on the day, down 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.

Singaporean conglomerate Jardine Strategic Holdings lost as much as 2.4% to a two-week low and led losers in the benchmark stock index.

In Indonesia, Charoen Pokphand Indonesia was among the top losers, down as much as 5.7%.

(Reporting by Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)