Southeast Asian stocks were mostly lower on Friday in line with broader Asia as they failed to shrug off a dismal Thursday, while Philippines shares regained their footing after steep falls in the previous session.
The Philippine index, which has been the region's worst performer this year and the biggest loser in the previous session, rose 0.7 per cent, boosted by real-estate stocks.
Real estate conglomerate Ayala Land Inc gained 2.1 per cent and SM Investments Corp added 1.5 per cent, reports Reuters.
Indonesian shares also ticked up, helped by telecom and financial stocks. Sector heavyweight PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk rose 0.8 per cent and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk rose 0.9 per cent.
Vietnamese stocks were on track for a seventh losing session and a fourth straight week of losses, with real estate stocks and industrials being the biggest drags on the benchmark.
Vinhomes Joint Stock Company fell 3.7 per cent and No Va Land Investment Group Corporation lost 3.1 per cent.
Singapore stocks approached their lowest in nearly 22 months, falling 1.7 per cent and on track for a fourth week in the red.
Financial heavyweights like United Overseas Bank Ltd lost 3.5 per cent and DBS Bank's parent company DBS Group Holdings Ltd lost 2.6 per cent.
Thai shares failed to sustain the previous session's brief bounce and looked set to post a fourth week of losses. Its energy sector, which drove a turnaround in the index in the previous session, was the biggest drag.
Oil and gas giant PTT PCL lost 2 per cent, while PTT Exploration and Production PCL traded 2.2 per cent lower.
Malaysian stocks edged lower on the back of telecom stocks, with Telekom Malaysia Berhad shedding 1.3 per cent and wireless service provider Digi.Com Berhad losing 1.7 per cent.
