SE Asia stocks down in line with global peers

Most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Friday, tracking weak global peers, as a slew of hawkish comments from central banks signalled that the era of cheap money was coming to an end.

Global equities took a hit after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney surprised many on Wednesday by saying that a rate hike was likely to be needed as the economy came closer to running at full capacity.

"Hawkish central bank rhetoric continued to sustain across major markets as investors anticipated the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) balance sheet unwinding and pushed bond yields higher and weighed on Wall Street overnight," OCBC Bank said in a note.

Most markets in the region ended the quarter with gains.

Singapore shares declined 1%, dragged down by financials.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank fell 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively. The index gained for a fifth consecutive quarter.

Meanwhile, Philippine shares gained for a fourth consecutive month, led by gains in SM Investment of 1.7% and BDO Unibank Inc of 2.5%.

Vietnam shares rose 0.61% with Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam and Hoa Phat Group JSC gaining 0.8% and 2.7%, respectively.

Indonesia's financial markets were closed on account of a national holiday.