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SE Asia Stocks-Wary ahead of Yellen speech; Vietnam up 1 pct

By Krishna V Kurup

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets traded

cautiously on Friday, as investors waited for clues on the

timing of a possible U.S. rate increase in a speech by Federal

Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to central bankers later in the day.

Already, top Fed officials have defended their view that the

U.S. central bank should probably raise interest rates soon,

saying they still intended to keep the economy running fast

enough to boost employment and inflation.

Recent strong readings on the U.S. labor market, and signs

that inflation was finally beginning to pick up, is encouraging

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some policymakers to believe that rates should be hiked, if not

as soon as September's policy meeting then at least before the

end of the year.

Traders currently put chances of a December rate hike at

about 42 percent.

Vietnam shares were up as much as 1.4 percent after

index heavyweight Vietcombank gained as much as 6.5

percent to its highest since July 14 after it said it would pay

a 10 pct cash dividend and 35 pct share dividend to

shareholders.

The index has gained 13.7 percent this year as of Thursday's

close.

Philippine shares fell 0.6 percent, with telecom

stocks leading the losers. PLDT Inc lost nearly 1

percent, and Globe Telecom Inc was down 2.1 percent.

Investors continue to take a cautious stance ahead of Janet

Yellen's speech, looking for indications of a rate hike, SB

Equities said in a note, adding that "trading participants have

increased chatter on a potential surprise in tonight's speech."

Thai shares were up 0.6 percent, led by technology

and basic materials, while Singapore and Indonesia were

down marginally.

For Asian Companies click;

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

STOCK MARKETS

Change at 0455 GMT

Market Current Prev close Pct Move

Singapore 2868.52 2876.93 -0.29

Bangkok 1553.58 1544.1 0.61

Manila 7804.35 7854.54 -0.64

Jakarta 5435.869 5454.116 -0.33

Kuala Lumpur 1681.91 1680.3 0.10

Ho Chi Minh 666.33 658.5 1.19

Change on year

Market Current End 2015 Pct Move

Singapore 2868.52 2882.73 -0.49

Bangkok 1553.58 1288.02 20.62

Manila 7804.35 6952.08 12.26

Jakarta 5435.869 4593.008 18.35

Kuala Lumpur 1681.91 1692.51 -0.63

Ho Chi Minh 666.33 579.03 15.08

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by Biju

Dwarakanath)