EMERGING MARKETS-China sell-off, virus woes drive Asian stocks lower

  • 7/26/2021
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* 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 EC> India -0.07 -1.86 <.NS 0.11 13.53 EI> Indones +0.03 -3.07 <.JK 0.14 2.19 ia SE> Malaysi +0.05 -4.81 <.KL -0.34 -6.69 a SE> Philipp -0.20 -4.57 <.PS -2.27 -10.7 ines I> 4 S.Korea 11> Singapo -0.02 -2.90 <.ST -0.51 10.45 re I> Taiwan -0.21 +1.41 <.TW -0.65 18.50 II> (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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