* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3lKhL5I
* Indonesia stocks hit 2-week low
* Thai baht at one-month low
By Anushka Trivedi
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Stock markets across Asia's emerging economies sank on
Thursday as concerns about rising coronavirus cases in the developed world
hammered investors' risk appetite, driving capital into the dollar and other
traditional safe havens.
With the tone set by a drop on Wall Street overnight, Singapore's Strait
Times index .STI was also caught up in the action, losing almost 1% as early
falls in China .SSEC sparked losses of as much as 2.5% across the region.
India .NSEI , South Korea .KS11 and Taiwan .TWII , among the strongest
performers in recent weeks thanks to their appeal to technology investors, were
the worst hit, falling 1.9%, 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively.
In Indonesia, hit by concerns over rising domestic COVID-19 cases and moves
to involve the central bank in fiscal stimulus, stocks .JKSE hit a two-week
low and the rupiah IDR= fell for a third session. Malaysia's ringgit MYR= eased 0.3%, bringing its decline for the week so
far to about 1.3% after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's claimed that he had a
majority to oust the current government. That stoked uncertainities about a drawn out power struggle and the
possibility of an early election and threatened to stall vital stimulus for the
economy.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whose seven-month old coalition government
has survived with a wafer-thin majority, unveiled an additional economic package
worth 10 billion ringgit ($2.40 billion) on Wednesday as Anwar made his pitch.
"Political uncertainty is a near-term risk for implementation of those
(stimulus) policies or projects and hence the speed of economic recovery,"
analysts at China-based trading firm CGS-CIMB said in a note.
Despite a dour outlook for global economy, analysts sounded slightly upbeat
on Asian emerging currencies' performance in the near-term.
"Asian FX have been much more resilient relatively to say, other emerging
Latin American currencies and that's because China's broadening of economic
recovery has anchored them," said Sim Moh Siong, forex strategist at Bank of
Singapore.
However, he said the risk will increase if coronavirus cases escalate to the
point that they overwhelm the healthcare system in Asia and currencies in this
case "will be punished."
Thailand's baht THB=TH fell 0.4% to hit a two-month low, a day after an
uneventful central bank meeting where rates were held steady and no stimulus was
announced for a country in dire need for fiscal support. ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 2.4 basis points at 6.929%
** Malaysian equities .KLSE gained 0.5%; Top Glove, the world's biggest
glove maker rose 6.9% and its rival Hartalega Holdings HTHB.KL jumped 9.8%
** Singapore's main index .STI slid 0.8% as export-oriented stocks fell
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0748 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD %
Japan JPY= +0.14 +3.22 .N225 -1.11 -2.40
China CNY=CFXS -0.15 +2.11 .SSEC -1.72 5.67
India INR=IN -0.39 -3.35 .NSEI -1.85 -10.21
Indonesia IDR= -0.44 -6.50 .JKSE -1.58 -23.16
Malaysia MYR= -0.29 -1.80 .KLSE 0.52 -5.32
Philippin PHP= +0.06 +4.32 .PSI -0.80 -25.20
es
S.Korea KRW=KFTC -0.71 -1.39 .KS11 -2.59 3.41
Singapore SGD= -0.09 -2.16 .STI -0.90 -23.71
Taiwan TWD=TP -0.31 +2.73 .TWII -2.54 2.23
Thailand THB=TH -0.35 -5.29 .SETI -1.24 -20.99