SE Asia Stocks-Philippines rebounds, Singapore hits 22-month low

The previous session saw sharp losses in the Philippines and other regional markets, as a tech-fuelled rout on Wall Street spooked investors across Asia, leading to a massive sell-off in regional equities.

Asian bourses are likely to benefit from "tentative bottom-fishing", analysts at OCBC said in a note.

The Philippine index, which has been the region's worst performer this year and the biggest loser in the previous session, rose 0.7 percent, boosted by real-estate stocks.

 "This is a short-lived bounce, since it was the worst performer and had seen a steep drop yesterday, I think investors think the 6,900 level of the index is a good time to buy... the last time it hit that level, investors bought back," said Miguel Ong, research analyst at AP Securities.

Real estate conglomerate Ayala Land Inc gained 2.1 percent and SM Investments Corp added 1.5 percent.

Indonesian shares also ticked up, helped by telecom and financial stocks. Sector heavyweight PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk rose 0.8 percent and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk rose 0.9 percent.

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 percent and No Va Land Investment Group Corporation lost 3.1 percent.

Singapore stocks approached their lowest in nearly 22 months, falling 1.7 percent and on track for a fourth week in the red. Financial heavyweights like United Overseas Bank Ltd lost 3.5 percent and DBS Bank's parent company DBS Group Holdings Ltd lost 2.6 percent.

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 percent, while PTT Exploration and Production PCL traded 2.2 percent lower.

Malaysian stocks edged lower on the back of telecom stocks, with Telekom Malaysia Berhad shedding 1.3 percent and wireless service provider Digi.Com Berhad losing 1.7 percent.