EMERGING MARKETS-Rupiah, won lead Asia FX gains; China data buoys stocks

  • 5/7/2021
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* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E * Rupiah set for best week since early-November * Rupiah could outperform peers - analyst * Lenders lift up Singapore stocks; OCBC doubles Q1 profit By Anushka Trivedi May 7 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah and the South Korean won both firmed by 0.5%, leading gains among Asian currencies on Friday as the dollar backtracked ahead of key jobs data, while Asian stocks received a boost from China"s positive economic data. The rupiah hit a two-month high and was headed for its best week since early November as the country"s quarterly economic output data on Wednesday hinted at mild recovery and as foreign investors returned to the country"s high-yielding bonds. An exodus of outflows, dividend repatriation pressure and concerns about Bank Indonesia"s autonomy had seen the rupiah slump this year, but it recently found favour among yield-seekers as the Federal Reserve asserted a dovish stance. As of last close, the yields on Indonesia"s benchmark 10-year bonds were down 43.6 basis points from its March highs. On the day, yields fell 1 basis points to 6.445%. "The rupiah is undervalued and is seeing a relief rally on Q1 growth showing a nascent turnaround," said Chang Wei Liang, macro-strategist at DBS Bank. "With positioning in the rupiah assets still relatively light, further optimism over growth could see the currency outperforming regional peers." The South Korean won had its best day in a week, while the Malaysian ringgit, Taiwan"s dollar and the Thai baht firmed between 0.1% to 0.3% as the greenback eased. U.S. payrolls data on Friday will likely confirm the economy"s solid path to recovery from the pandemic, and even though it could potentially stoke inflation worries, so far the Fed has downplayed the risks of higher prices. Meanwhile, Thailand and Taiwan shares jumped about 1% each, while South Korea"s KOSPI rallied 0.7% after China"s surprise export surge and solid services data for April cemented hopes of continuing economic recovery in the region"s top trade partner. Heavyweight lenders propped up Singapore"s bourse after strong quarterly results at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank. HIGHLIGHTS ** Lenders drag Indonesia stocks ** Singapore Press shares tumble up to 15% after restructuring plan ** India"s daily COVID-19 cases rise by record 414,188 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0403 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % % Japan -0.01 -5.36 0.07 6.96 China +0.06 +1.07 0.42 -0.50 India 0.00 -0.94 0.78 6.14 Indonesia +0.23 -1.69 -0.37 -0.52 Malaysia +0.16 -2.27 0.30 -2.71 Philippines -0.04 +0.23 0.15 -11.87 S.Korea +0.46 -3.08 0.66 11.35 Singapore +0.04 -0.89 0.72 12.38 Taiwan +0.28 +2.04 1.10 16.62 Thailand +0.06 -4.01 0.96 9.50 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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