Singapore shares rose on Friday, building on the previous session's strong gains, while the Philippines fell sharply to its lowest close in nearly two weeks. Asian shares outside Japan were marginally firmer, after trading down earlier in the session as US President Donald Trump proposed additional tariffs on Chinese products, aggravating trade tensions.
Singapore index closed 1.1 percent higher, adding to the near 2 percent gain on Thursday, with financials DBS Group Holdings Ltd and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd climbing 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. Singapore shares gained 0.4 percent this week, their fourth winning week in five.
Vietnam shares, which hit an all-time peak in the session, marked a 2.2 percent gain on the week, their 12th winning week in 14 since the start of the year. The shares have posted gains for 17 sessions out of 20. Real estate firms Vincom Retail JSC and Vingroup JSC gained 6.7 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, in the session.
Meanwhile, Philippine shares closed nearly 1 percent lower in the session, posting an eighth week of losses in ten. BDO Unibank Inc fell 3 percent to an over five-month closing low, while real estate firm Ayala Land Inc slipped 1.8 percent.
Indonesian shares edged marginally lower, falling for a sixth consecutive week, with the index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks also falling slightly in the session. Indonesian consumers were slightly less optimistic in March than the previous month as many expected the job market to weaken, a central bank survey showed on Thursday. The Thai stock market was closed for a holiday.