Singapore hits 2-1/2-yr closing high; Vietnam falls

Shares across Southeast Asia tumbled on Monday, as investors were unnerved by a spike in U.S. bond yields.

BENGALURU: Singapore shares climbed 1 percent to their highest close in two-and-a-half years on Monday, riding on a rally in financials, while Vietnam stocks tumbled 2.4 percent in their sharpest drop in nearly two years.

The city-state's top lenders United Overseas Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and DBS Group surged to record closing highs.

ComfortDelGro Corp climbed 6.3 percent after the city-state's top taxi operator said on Friday it would buy a 51 percent stake in a unit of San Francisco-based Uber that runs a fleet of private hire vehicles.

Asian shares were also buoyant following strong U.S. payrolls data and better-than-expected Chinese trade figures on Friday. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.7 percent at 553.25 as of 0924 GMT, well above a recent two-month trough of 542.27.

Vietnam shares, which have been Southeast Asia's best performers so far this year with a gain of more than 41 percent as of Friday's close, fell for a fourth session in five.

Most of the sectors were in the red, with Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp and Vietcombank shedding 5.2 percent each to settle at three-week closing lows.

Philippine shares recovered from early falls to close at two-week highs, buoyed by heavyweights SM Investments Corp and BDO Unibank Inc.

Earlier, Fitch Ratings upgraded the country's credit rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB-', citing its strong economic performance and policies.

SM Investments rose 1.7 percent to its highest close in over a month and BDO Unibank climbed 3.4 percent to a record close, outweighing losses in top telecom stocks.

PLDT Inc plunged 5 percent to its lowest close since March and Globe Telecom Inc dropped 4 percent to its lowest close since February after the Philippine government indicated a Chinese company could enter the market.

Malaysian and Indonesian shares closed marginally lower, while Thai stocks ended at a near two-week top.
    
An index of Indonesia's 45 most liquid stocks rose 0.1 percent. - Reuters