* Philippine shares drop as much as 2.3%
* Firmer U.S dollar weighs on EM FX
* Chinese shares drop up to 2.5%, hit 2-1/2 month low
By Harish Sridharan
July 26 (Reuters) - Most Asian equities fell and currencies
were subdued on Monday, as a drop in Chinese stocks and soaring
COVID-19 cases in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and
Thailand continued to weigh on sentiment.
Chinese shares slumped up to 2.5%, weighed by
losses in the property and education sectors. Shares in private
education firms were hit by worries over heavy-handed government
regulations after Beijing barred for-profit tutoring in core
school subjects and restricted foreign investment in the sector.
"The drop today in part is China-led," said Mitul Kotecha,
chief emerging market Asia & Europe strategist at TD Securities.
"Asia has been underperforming in the recent weeks because
of the ongoing spread of the Delta variant and the markets are
reacting to growth concerns," he added.
Equities in Manila fell as much as 2.3% to a
two-month low, leading losses in the Southeast Asia region, as
strong U.S. corporate earnings sucked funds out of emerging
markets and into Wall Street.
Thailand posted a daily record number of coronavirus
infections for a second consecutive day, while Malaysia on
Sunday surpasssed 1 million total cases and remains under
lockdown.
Malaysia"s state news agency said the country will not
extend a national state of emergency when it ends on Aug. 1.
The peso, Singapore"s dollar and Indonesian
rupiah traded flat to 0.2% weaker as the greenback held
near its highest level since April ahead of the U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting.
The central bank will conclude its two-day policy review on
Wednesday, with market participants watching out for clues on
the timing of stimulus tapering.
Meanwhile, Indonesia on Sunday extended its COVID-19
restrictions by a week to Aug. 2 and said it would add more
intensive care units amid a rise in deaths.
Equities in Jakarta, however, were among the few
gainers in the region as technology stocks jumped.
Both, the South Korean won and stocks in the
country weakened ahead of second quarter gross domestic
product data due on Tuesday, as worries over rising COVID-19
cases at home took hold.
South Korea"s economy is likely to post its fastest
year-on-year growth in a decade in the second-quarter on
resilience in exports and investments, a Reuters poll showed.
Highlights
** Philippines stock index hits lowest since May 27
** Top gainer on the Jakarta stock index was Equity
Development Investment Tbk PT, up 34.21%
** Malaysia govt will not seek extension of the national
state of emergency - reports
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0517 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCK
DAILY YTD % X DAILY S YTD
% % %
Japan +0.22 -6.40 <.N2 1.08 1.46
25>
China
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