* Vietnam falls the most, down 1.8 pct
* Philippines snaps 3 sessions of gains
* Malaysia posts over 2-wk closing high
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
May 16 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets
declined on Wednesday, tracking Asian peers, after Pyongyang
called off talks with Seoul, throwing a major U.S.-North Korean
summit into question.
Investor sentiment was also subdued as surging 10-year U.S.
Treasury yields sparked fears of faster fund outflows from
regional equities.
"If bonds are embarked on a journey to higher yields, then
the recent outflows from troubled EM (emerging markets)
countries could become even greater," ING said in a note.
Asian shares ex-Japan slipped 0.03 percent.
In Southeast Asia, Philippine stocks ended 0.2
percent lower as investors booked some profits following three
straight sessions of gains.
A fall in March remittances also hurt sentiment, said
Charles William Ang, an associate analyst at Manila-based COL
Financial Group Inc.
Remittances in March fell 9.8 percent from a year earlier,
the steepest in 15 years, according to data released by the
central bank on Tuesday.
Industrial stocks took the biggest beating with SM
Investment closing 1.5 percent lower.
Vietnam shares closed 1.8 percent lower after
shedding nearly 2 percent in intraday trading.
Meanwhile, Indonesian shares erased early falls to
close slightly higher. Losses in consumer stocks were outweighed
by gains in the telecom sector.
Unilever Indonesia closed more than 3.5 percent
lower, while Telekomunikasi Indonesia rose 3.3
percent.
Bank Indonesia will raise its key interest rate on Thursday
to support the rupiah and stabilise domestic markets, a majority
of economists in a Reuters poll said.
Rating agencies have warned of repercussions from prolonged
pressures to the Indonesian markets. Moody's said if the
weakness in currency and bonds persists, it would be credit
negative for sovereign ratings.
Malaysia climbed 0.5 percent to close at its highest
level in more than two weeks.
A strategy for the removal of goods and services tax will be
announced within 100 days, a senior adviser to the Malaysian
government said on Tuesday.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change on the day
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 3533.05 3540.23 -0.20
Bangkok 1750.62 1766.86 -0.92
Manila 7869.56 7885.97 -0.21
Jakarta 5841.464 5838.116 0.06
Kuala Lumpur 1858.26 1848.2 0.54
Ho Chi Minh 1054.62 1073.5 -1.76
Change on year
Market Current End 2017 Pct Move
Singapore 3533.05 3402.92 3.82
Bangkok 1750.62 1753.71 -0.18
Manila 7869.56 8558.42 -8.05
Jakarta 5841.464 6355.654 -8.09
Kuala Lumpur 1858.26 1796.81 3.42
Ho Chi Minh 1054.62 984.24 7.15
(Reporting by Karthika Suresh Namboothiri; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
