SE Asia Stocks-Singapore hits 2-1/2-yr closing high; Vietnam plunges (Dec 11)

(Corrects Dec. 11 story to remove reference to Thailand in

paragraph 11 and table as the market was closed for a holiday)

By Chris Thomas

Dec 11 (Reuters) - 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.

An index of Indonesia's 45 most liquid stocks rose

0.1 percent.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

Change on day

Market Current Previous close Pct Move

Singapore 3460.45 3424.64 1.05

Manila 8358.57 8304.7 0.65

Jakarta 6026.63 6030.958 -0.07

Kuala Lumpur 1719.47 1721.25 -0.1

Ho Chi Minh 917.45 940.16 -2.42

Change on year

Market Current End 2016 Pct Move

Singapore 3460.45 2880.76 20.12

Manila 8358.57 6840.64 22.19

Jakarta 6026.63 5296.711 13.78

Kuala Lumpur 1719.47 1641.73 4.74

Ho Chi Minh 917.45 664.87 37.99

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu

Sahu)