Singapore stocks up, other SE Asia markets flat

Singapore shares rose for a third straight session on Tuesday to a 21-month closing high, aided by banking stocks, while other Southeast Asian markets ended flat to lower in the absence of catalysts.

Asian stock markets edged down as investors sought the next catalyst following the French presidential election on Sunday.

"Asian markets await the results of South Korean presidential elections amid a relatively quiet economic data calendar," OCBC Bank said in a note.

South Koreans started polling to elect a new leader and liberal Moon Jae-in, who had lost narrowly to former president Park Geun-hye in 2012, is widely expected to win the presidency.

In Singapore, financials helped the benchmark stock index post its highest close since July 2015.

Shares of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp rose 1.6% after the city-state's second-biggest lender reported a 14% rise in quarterly profit, in line with its peers DBS Group Holdings and United Overseas Bank.

The Jakarta SE Composite Index ended slightly lower, snapping three consecutive sessions of gains, after hitting a record high earlier in the session.

Energy stocks were among the biggest losers with PT ABM Investama Tbk shedding 6%.

Jakarta's Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was sentenced to two years in jail for blasphemy against Islam, in a trial that was much harsher than prosecutors had sought.

This development, which happened when prices were at historical highs, gave investors an excuse to lock in profits, Mirae Asset View said in a statement.

Philippine shares fell as investors took profits after three straight sessions of gains.

"We've been up for three days, so I think investors are taking profits in stocks which hit new highs," said Richard Llaneda of Eagle Equities.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp closed 0.8% lower after hitting an eight-month high on Monday, while property developer SM Prime Holdings fell 0.4%.

Meanwhile, Nestor Espenilla has been named as the Philippine central bank's next governor. The much-anticipated announcement comes ahead of a policy meeting on Thursday, where the central bank is expected to hold rates.