SE Asia Stocks-Cautious on mixed U.S. data; Vietnam near 10-yr high

(Corrects milestone in seventh paragraph to "four-day rally"

from "five-day rally")

By Sumeet Gaikwad

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian markets traded cautiously

on Thursday following mixed data from the United States, while

Vietnam climbed to a near 10-year high driven by gains in

consumer staples and financial stocks.

Data revealed that U.S. companies scaled back their hiring

to an 11-month low in September after two powerful hurricanes

disrupted some business activities, while the vast domestic

services sector overcame those snags to expand at its fastest

pace in 12 years.

In Southeast Asia, Philippine shares edged down as

investors booked profit after recent highs.

"The Philippine index was at an all-time high yesterday, for

a fifth time this month. So, I think profit-taking is

occurring," said Edgar Lay, an analyst at Manila-based AB

Capital Securities.

Index heavyweight Ayala Land Inc fell 1.14 percent

while SM Investments Corp slipped 0.4 percent.

Among other markets, Malaysian shares edged lower,

weighed by telecom and consumer discretionary stocks. Genting

Malaysia Bhd and Digi.Com Bhd fell 1.8

percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Indonesia shares, down 0.4 percent, took a breather

after a record-setting four-day rally, posting their first fall

in five days.

Astra International Tbk slid 0.6 percent while

Unilever Indonesia Tbk fell over 1 percent.

The index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks

fell 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Vietnam shares extended gains for a second

straight session and rose as much as 0.61 to 810.54, their

highest in nearly 10 years.

Vietcombank gained 1.7 percent, while food

processing company Masan Group Corp jumped 3.3 percent.

Singapore shares rose 0.8 percent helped by financial

and real estate stocks.

Bluechip stock CapitaLand Ltd gained 1.9 percent

in early trade while DBS Group Holdings Ltd rose over

1 percent.

Thai equities were marginally up buoyed by telecom

and material stocks. PTT Global Chemical Pcl and

Advanced Info Service Pcl gained 1.6 percent and 0.5

percent, respectively.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: CHANGE AT 0415 GMT

Change on day

Market Current Previous Pct Move

Close

Singapore 3261.83 3236.65 0.78

Bangkok 1689.49 1687.77 0.10

Manila 8337.32 8344.05 -0.08

Jakarta 5926.917 5951.475 -0.41

Kuala Lumpur 1758.2 1761.84 -0.21

Ho Chi Minh 809.4 805.66 0.46

Change on year

Market Current End 2016 Pct Move

Singapore 3261.83 2880.76 13.23

Bangkok 1689.49 1542.94 9.50

Manila 8337.32 6840.64 21.88

Jakarta 5926.917 5296.711 11.90

Kuala Lumpur 1758.2 1641.73 7.09

Ho Chi Minh 809.4 664.87 21.74

(Reporting by Sumeet Gaikwad; Editing by Vyas Mohan)