Emerging Markets: Asian stocks subdued amid holiday lull; Taiwan shares fall 2%

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust

04/05/2021 09:09

* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
    * Economists predict Indonesia Q1 GDP at -0.74%
    * India's cases cross 20 million-mark
    * Japan equities closed; China, Thailand financial markets
shut

    By Anushka Trivedi
    May 4 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were largely tepid on Tuesday
as a continuous surge in COVID-19 cases kept investors on the
sidelines amid holiday-thinned trade, although shares in Taiwan
dropped nearly 2%.
    In a divergence from world's developed markets, which are
faring better than their Asian peers on economic reopening
cheer, equities in Singapore  .STI , Indonesia  .JKSE  and
Malaysia  .KLSE  were unchanged.
    A raft of manufacturing data in emerging Asia this week
pointed to a slower pace of economic recovery, with investors
further worried by the slow vaccination rate amid an explosion
in COVID-19 cases and a creaky healthcare system.    
    Holidays in major players China and Japan dampened activity
generally, while a mixed close at Wall Street overnight added to
some hesitation in making bets.
    "The somewhat confusing price action overnight in New York
has left the region (Asia) content to sit in wait-and-see mode,
offsetting the bullishness of the Wall Street reopening gnomes,"
said Jeffrey Halley, a senior Asia Pacific market analyst at
OANDA. 
    India's official tally of coronavirus infections surged past
20 million and its shares  .NSEI  see-sawed in positive and
negative territory before trading up 0.2% by midday.
    Electronics-focussed Taiwan's bourse  .TWII  saw its worst
day in over eight months as it tracked a drop in U.S. tech
stocks, compounded by fears over a recent uptick in domestic
infections linked to China Airlines  2610.TW .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2MQ0BW
    Singapore's dollar  SGD=  and the Malaysian ringgit  MYR=MY 
eased around 0.4% against a buoyant greenback, while the South
Korean  KRW=KFTC  won was little changed.
    The Indonesian rupiah  IDR=  edged up slightly a day before
first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data was due.
Southeast Asia's largest economy is expected to have contracted
at a much slower pace in the first quarter, a Reuters poll
showed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MQ06S
    Among upcoming events, Thailand's central bank was set to
meet to decide its monetary policy when trade resumes on
Wednesday amid an unprecedented rise in coronavirus cases in the
country.
    
    HIGHLIGHTS
    
    ** S. Korean shares  .KS11  rebound after five-day losing
streak
    ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields  ID10YT=RR  are up
0.3 basis points at 6.484%
    ** Top losers on the Singapore STI  .STI  include:
Capitaland Ltd  CATL.SI  down 2.2% and Mapletree Commercial
Trust  MACT.SI  down 1.4% 
    
 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0723 GMT                                        
 COUNTRY       FX RIC     FX DAILY %  FX YTD %     INDEX  STOCKS DAILY %  STOCKS YTD %
 Japan          JPY=           -0.35     -5.67   .N225              0.00          4.99
 India          INR=IN         +0.12     -1.03   .NSEI              0.19          4.86
 Indonesia      IDR=           +0.14     -2.67   .JKSE             -0.01         -0.45
 Malaysia       MYR=           -0.36     -2.38   .KLSE              0.16         -2.09
 Philippines    PHP=           -0.06     -0.04   .PSI              -0.16        -10.93
 S.Korea                                                                 
 Singapore      SGD=           -0.36     -0.99   .STI              -0.03         11.96
 Taiwan         TWD=TP         +0.21     +2.02   .TWII             -1.68         14.94
 
 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V)
 ((Anushka.Trivedi@thomsonreuters.com; +918061823241;))