- Singapore approves COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 yrs, Indonesia for 6-11 year olds
- China stocks climb 1%
- Thai baht hovers near 3-week high
Dec 13 (Reuters) - Emerging Asia's stocks and currencies rose on Monday, as worries over the fallout from the new coronavirus variant Omicron receded, while investors focussed on more than a dozen global central bank meetings due this week.
Shares in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia rose between 0.2% and 0.7%, while their respective currencies , , gained 0.1% to 0.3%.
Indonesia and Singapore approved COVID-19 jabs for pre-adolescent children, while Thailand mulled easing COVID-19 curbs, with markets counting on vaccines to curb Omicron's impact after reports said symptoms caused by the strain may not be as bad as initially feared.
"Asia's economic adaptation to mobility restrictions has improved, and rising vaccination coverage provides a layer of defences," Citi analysts wrote in a note, adding that economic reopening will continue to fuel optimism.
Focus now shifts to recent policy manoeuvres in China and a crucial two-day Federal Reserve review that wraps up on Wednesday. In Asia, investors await Indonesia and the Philippine central banks' meetings the following day.
Shanghai shares jumped 1% to a three-month high after an agenda-setting meeting of China's top leaders concluding late on Friday pledged proactive fiscal policy and ensured economic stability in 2022.
South Korea's won firmed 0.3% as data showed the Asian trade bellwether's 10-day exports surged 20.4%, while the Indonesian rupiah was buoyed by the vaccine approval news.
The baht, which is sensitive to coronavirus headlines since Thailand's economy is heavily dependant on tourism, rose 0.4% to a near three-week high.
Gains on the Kuala Lumpur stock index were slightly tempered by a 3.3% drop in Top Glove Corp, the world's biggest latex glove maker, after brokerages downgraded the stock on profit plunge.
Reopening-driven stocks including leisure and beverage advanced on the Singapore bourse, after the country's health ministry approved COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 years.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Singapore-listed City Developments rises 1.3% on divesting a South Korean property for S$1.26 billion ($923.21 million)
** Bank Indonesia is expected to stand pat on interest rates as inflation remains benign, but a first hike could be seen in the third quarter of 2022, a Reuters poll found.
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 0.6 basis points at 6.314%
|
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0621 GMT |
||||||
|
COUNTRY |
FX RIC |
FX DAILY % |
FX YTD % |
INDEX |
STOCKS DAILY % |
STOCKS YTD % |
|
Japan |
-0.10 |
-9.03 |
(.N225) |
0.71 |
4.36 |
|
|
China |
+0.12 |
+2.61 |
(.SSEC) |
0.55 |
6.14 |
|
|
India |
+0.04 |
-3.53 |
(.NSEI) |
0.25 |
25.56 |
|
|
Indonesia |
+0.28 |
-2.02 |
(.JKSE) |
0.33 |
11.63 |
|
|
Malaysia |
+0.00 |
-4.51 |
(.KLSE) |
0.63 |
-7.93 |
|
|
Philippines |
+0.14 |
-4.50 |
(.PSI) |
-0.18 |
0.55 |
|
|
S.Korea |
+0.18 |
-7.89 |
(.KS11) |
-0.20 |
4.55 |
|
|
Singapore |
-0.09 |
-3.22 |
(.STI) |
0.09 |
10.36 |
|
|
Taiwan |
-0.04 |
+2.65 |
(.TWII) |
-0.33 |
20.60 |
|
|
Thailand |
+0.30 |
-10.22 |
(.SETI) |
0.27 |
11.96 |
Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
Source: Reuters