* Singapore, Indonesia up around 1%
* Rupiah rises ahead of central bank meeting on Thursday
* Top Glove slides 10%, weighing on Malaysian shares
Nov 17 (Reuters) - Singapore and Indonesia climbed around 1%
on Tuesday, leading more muted gains across Asian stock markets
on promising news of another COVID-19 vaccine as the pandemic
spreads.
Moderna MRNA.O said its experimental vaccine was 94.5%
effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, becoming the second
U.S. company after Pfizer PFR.N last week to report promising
results in trials. "We remain cautious of the ever increasing cases of COVID-19
even as vaccine hopes dominate market sentiments for now,"
Maybank analysts wrote in a note.
Stocks in Jakarta .JKSE were at their highest since March,
and Singapore .STI since June. Both countries' stock markets
have seen strong gains in November so far on Joe Biden's U.S.
presidential election win and vaccine developments.
In Malaysia, sharp losses by Top Glove Corp TPGC.KL held
back broader gains. The glove maker fell 10% after tighter
movement curbs in an area where its dormitories are located will
impact about 15% of its total factory workforce. Stock market .KS11 gains in South Korea were capped by
tighter curbs at home, while the won KRW=KFTC edged 0.2%
higher.
Currencies in the region made broad gains against the U.S.
dollar, as appetite for the greenback was hindered by some U.S.
states stepping up restrictions to counter the spread of the
virus, and by the lack of cooperation Biden has received from
the Trump administration for a transition of government. FRX/
The Thai baht THB=TH rose 0.3% ahead of Wednesday's
central bank meeting. Economists polled by Reuters expect the
Bank of Thailand to keep its policy rate at a record low.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= was up 0.6%, with economists
expecting the central bank there also to keep rates unchanged,
underpinning the appeal of its high-yielding local bond market.
The yield on its benchmark 10-year bonds ID10YT=RR fell
5.4 basis points to 6.228%. Bond yields fall as prices rise.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Singapore shares up over 14% so far in November, and
Indonesia over 8%
** Top gainers in Jakarta include Maming Enam Sembilan
Mineral Tbk PT AKSI.JK and Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk PT
ADHI.JK
** Thai Beverage PCL TBEV.SI and Jardine Strategic
Holdings Ltd JSH.SI led gains in Singapore
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0348 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %
Japan JPY= +0.09 +3.96 .N225 0.03 9.54
China CNY=CFXS +0.23 +6.03 .SSEC -0.20 9.51
India INR=IN +0.00 -4.32 .NSEI 0.00 5.03
Indonesia IDR= +0.57 -1.00 .JKSE 0.91 -11.98
Malaysia MYR= +0.28 -0.35 .KLSE 0.04 0.72
Philippines PHP= -0.08 +5.06 .PSI 0.20 -11.30
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.22 +4.47 .KS11 0.13 15.86
Singapore SGD= +0.09 +0.01 .STI 0.97 -13.91
Taiwan TWD=TP +1.08 +5.63 .TWII 0.62 13.66
Thailand THB=TH +0.30 -0.83 .SETI 0.72 -13.86