Asian shares post biggest monthly losses in nearly 6-1/2 years in October

(Reuters) - Asian shares posted their biggest monthly losses in nearly 6-1/2 years in October on worries over slowing corporate earnings, higher U.S yields, and trade tensions between the United States and China.

Refinitiv data showed 54 percent of Asian companies have missed consensus earning forecasts for the third quarter so far, underscoring a lacklustre earnings performance and worries about the impact from the U.S.-China trade war.

The region's growth worries were highlighted by the International Monetary Fund, which recently cut its projection for next year, citing trade wars and monetary tightening in some economies.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield's ascent to a more than 7-year high of 3.261 percent in October also spooked investors, causing a retreat from Asian stocks.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific index fell 9.59percent last month, its biggest monthly decline since May 2012.

South Korean stocks, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnamese shares led the regional losses by shedding more than 10 percent each in the last month.

Due to the sharp losses, all of Asia's equity markets had turned negative for the year by the end of last month.

New Zealand, India, and Malaysian stocks have the highest price-to-earnings ratio based on 12-month forward earnings in Asia, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)