SE Asia Stocks-Wary before Fed Chair Yellen's speech; Vietnam up

By Krishna V Kurup

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

cautiously on Friday as investors waited for signals on the

future trajectory of U.S. interest rates from Federal Reserve

Chair Janet Yellen in her speech later in the day.

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

that inflation was finally beginning to pick up, are encouraging

some policymakers to believe that rates should be raised, 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.

Several policymakers have said raising interest rates

gradually would allow them to stimulate the economy for longer,

but that an overheating economy could end in a recession.

Singapore shares fell 0.7 percent, snapping three

sessions of gains, with telecoms such as StarHub Ltd

dragging the index down. For the week, they posted a gain of 0.5

percent.

Singapore's industrial production in July shrank from a year

earlier, with manufacturing output falling 3.6 percent, data

from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed. The median

forecast in a Reuters survey was a rise of 0.9 percent.

Philippine shares closed marginally lower, posting

their fourth straight session of losses, led by telecoms

including Globe Telecom Inc. They declined 1.1 percent

this week, their third straight weekly loss.

Investors took a cautious stance ahead of 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."

Vietnam shares ended 1.4 percent higher with index

heavyweight Vietcombank gaining 6.5 percent after the

company said it would pay a 10 percent cash dividend and 35

percent share dividend to shareholders.

They added 0.8 percent for the week, their third straight

weekly gain.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS

STOCK MARKETS

Change on day

Market Current Prev close Pct Move

Singapore 2857.65 2876.93 -0.67

Bangkok 1549.41 1544.1 0.34

Manila 7845.49 7854.54 -0.12

Jakarta 5438.831 5454.116 -0.28

Kuala Lumpur 1683.09 1680.3 0.17

Ho Chi Minh 667.75 658.5 1.40

Change on year

Market Current End 2015 Pct Move

Singapore 2857.65 2882.73 -0.87

Bangkok 1549.41 1288.02 20.29

Manila 7845.49 6952.08 12.85

Jakarta 5438.831 4593.008 18.42

Kuala Lumpur 1683.09 1692.51 -0.56

Ho Chi Minh 667.75 579.03 15.32

(Reporting by Krishna V Kurup in Bengaluru; Editing by

Subhranshu Sahu)