* Bullish bets raised on Asian emerging currencies - Reuters
poll
* Palm oil shares boost Malaysia stock index
* Philippine stock markets closed due to typhoon
* Bank Indonesia sees room to ease rates -central bank
governor
By Anushka Trivedi
Nov 12 (Reuters) - Most of emerging Asian currencies and
stock markets settled back in cautious trade on Thursday after
the initial burst of optimism over headway in a coronavirus
vaccine trial.
Thai stocks .SETI led losses with a 1% drop, followed by
Indonesia .JKSE and Singapore .STI , giving up some gains
from a rally earlier this week that was powered by positive
coronavirus vaccine news from U.S. drug maker Pfizer Inc
PFE.N . Most regional currencies drifted lower against a steady
greenback, although the Taiwanese dollar TWD=TP was an
outlier, jumping more than 1% for a second straight day.
"Challenges remain on the time horizon, manufacturing
capacity, delivery and storage of the vaccine even if it is
proven safe and effective," DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang
wrote in a note.
Concerns about distribution of the vaccine were at the
forefront, especially in highly populated countries like India
and Indonesia, which lack infrastructure required to carry out
such a large-scale operation.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= fell 0.5%, marking its worst
session in almost two-weeks, as its central bank said there was
room to ease rates to support economic growth. The currency had firmed on the vaccine news and recent
capital inflows but investors are taking a pause ahead of the
central bank meeting next week, Bank of Singapore FX analyst Moh
Siong Sim said.
He said it was a "close call" whether Bank Indonesia would
actually slash interest-rates since it has favoured stabilising
rupiah in the past.
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll showed investors went long on all
Asian emerging currencies but sentiment towards the Indian rupee
INR=IN remained frail on suspicions that the country's central
bank was curbing its appreciation by buying dollars.
Among equity markets, Malaysia's benchmark index .KLSE
rose 1% to be the sole gainer, lifted by palm oil producers as
prices of the commodity climbed. POI/
Meanwhile, the Philippine stock markets .PSI were closed
due to a typhoon.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Thailand's 10-year government bond yields are down 2.5
basis points at 1.37%
** Top gainers on Malaysia index .KLSE : Genting Bhd
GENT.KL , up 4%, and Genting Malaysia Bhd GENM.KL , up 2.6%
** Top losers on Thailand's SETI .SETI include Thai Energy
Storage Technology PCL 3K-BAT.BK , down 28.9%, and Apex
Development PCL APEX.BK , down 14.3%
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0730 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
Japan JPY= +0.14 +3.17 .N225 0.68 7.88
China CNY=CFXS +0.01 +5.04 .SSEC -0.11 9.46
India INR=IN -0.32 -4.34 .NSEI -0.34 4.42
Indonesia IDR= -0.50 -1.84 .JKSE -0.90 -13.33
Malaysia MYR= -0.15 -1.06 .KLSE 0.95 -0.23
Philippines PHP= +0.15 +4.55 .PSI - -10.12
S.Korea KRW=KFTC -0.43 +3.73 .KS11 -0.41 12.65
Singapore SGD= -0.09 -0.43 .STI -0.26 -16.03
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.45 +4.89 .TWII -0.30 10.21
Thailand THB=TH -0.13 -1.32 .SETI -1.24 -15.90