Southeast Asia stocks fall tracking Asian peers

Southeast Asian stock markets were mostly lower on Wednesday tracking Asian peers after North Korea called off talks with Seoul.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.2 per cent after the US 10-year paper crossed 3.0 per cent on Tuesday.

Philippines shares erased earlier gains and were trading down as much as 1.7 per cent as investors booked some profits following three consecutive days of gain.

A fall in March remittances also hurt sentiment, said Charles William Ang, Associate Analyst at Manila based COL Financial Group, Inc, reports Reuters.

Foreign remittances into the Philippines in March fell 9.8 per cent from last year, its steepest drop in 15 years, according to central bank data released on Tuesday.

SM Investment slid as much as 2.2 per cent while real estate developer SM Prime Holdings fell over 2.5 per cent.

Singapore stocks shed half a percent, dragged down by real estate stocks. City Development fell as much as 3.2 per cent.

Indonesian shares slid for a third straight session, down as much as 1.6 per cent, dragged down by financials and consumer stocks. Unilever Indonesia, down as much as 4.5 per cent, was the biggest drag.

Data showed on Tuesday the country posted its biggest trade deficit in four years in April.

Meanwhile, Malaysian stocks climbed 0.4 per cent, with telecom service provider Maxis Bhd gaining 2.7 per cent and Astro Malaysia rising as much as 2.9 per cent.