* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3f2vwbA
* Fed comments soothe equities, but bond markets wary
* RBI assurance of support helps Indian bond yields ease
* U.S. Fed likely to taper purchases from Q4 - ING
* Philippine equities closed on local holiday
By Rashmi Ashok
Feb 25 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Thursday, after the
head of the U.S. Federal Reserve soothed nerves over rising U.S.
bond yields by reassuring markets for a second day that interest
rates would not be hiked anytime soon as inflation was not a
worry yet.
Tech-heavy indexes of South Korea .KS11 and Taiwan
.TWII , which had seen selling pressure due to worries over
high valuations amid the spike in bond yields, reclaimed their
footing to add 2.5% and 1%, respectively.
Singapore stocks .STI jumped 1.5%, led by gains among
financials and consumer stocks, while strong crude prices
boosted Thailand's heavyweight energy firms.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it could take more than three
years to hit the inflation target, while clarifying that while
some asset prices may go up, it wouldn't necessarily lead to
inflation and would not warrant a policy response. Bond markets were not entirely convinced by Powell's
comments, though, with yields on the U.S. 10-year Treasuries as
well as local bonds sticking to multi-month highs.
Bond markets have been largely supported by massive central
bank purchases to fund government spending and keep yields from
surging, and the prospect of these purchases tapering off
continues to weigh on markets.
"By the third quarter we could see real pressure on the U.S.
Federal Reserve to justify what it's doing," analysts at ING
wrote earlier.
"We think the Fed will taper purchases in the fourth
quarter, with some shift in communication presumably coming the
second or early-third quarter."
Indian and Indonesian bond markets, meanwhile, found some
respite from local cues, analysts at DBS noted.
After lukewarm demand at a recent auction, the Reserve Bank
of India's assurance of support in fiscal 2022, in remarks to a
local television on Wednesday, saw yields inch down a smidgen,
the analysts said.
Yields on India's 10-year bonds IN10YT=RR stood at 6.150%,
down 6 basis points from Monday's high.
"Caught between domestic cues and a global squeeze in rates,
a repricing of the yield curve higher lies ahead, in sync with
the evolving 2021 economic dynamics of an improved growth
outlook, lower liquidity surplus and above-target inflation,"
they wrote.
Indonesian 10-year bond yields ID10YT=RR eased nearly 10
basis points from the previous session's high, after the Finance
Minister said 2021 financing plans might be scaled back by
tapping unspent funds from 2020.
Currency markets largely wore a quiet look. South Korea's
won KRW=KFTC held 0.3% firmer after the central bank kept
interest rates on hold as expected. Philippine equities .PSI did not trade on account of a
local holiday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Top gainers on the Thailand's SETI .SETI include AQ
Estate PCL AQ.BK up 100% and NC Housing PCL NCH.BK up 29.76%
** Top gainers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index .KLSE
include Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd PMET.KL up 8.6% and
Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd HAPS.KL up 3.29%
** Thailand's 10-year government bond yields are up 9 basis
points at 1.66%
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0459 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCK
DAILY YTD % X DAILY S YTD
% % %
Japan JPY= -0.02 -2.49 <.N2 1.59 9.84
25>
China