* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Travel stocks fall in Malaysia
* Banks power Singapore's index to a six-week high
* Asian currencies slightly weaker
By Anushka Trivedi
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Malaysia shares sat out a broader rally in
Asian stocks on Thursday as climbing COVID-19 cases at home
spooked investors, while Singapore and South Korea indexes led
gains on hopes that a large U.S. stimulus would boost trade and
investment.
India's benchmark index .NSEI touched an all-time high,
while equities in South Korea .KS11 surged 2% to break above
the 3,000 handle again. Indonesia .JKSE , Thailand .SETI and
Taiwan equities .TWII all rose more than 1%. .BO KRW/
Singapore's Straits Times Index .STI , that had lagged its
peers in the year-end rally in 2020, hit a six-week high,
propelled by heavyweight banking stocks that tracked their U.S.
counterparts.
Democrat victories in two Georgia races handed them control
of the Senate in the United States, making it easier for
incoming President Joe Biden to push his reforms which includes
higher fiscal spending, with markets expecting it to drive
economic growth. MKTS/GLOB
"More fiscal stimulus would lead to a weaker U.S. dollar and
that is always positive for emerging and Asian markets," said
Joel Ng, an analyst at KGI Securities in Singapore.
It would also increase demand for commodities which should
benefit emerging markets that are large exporters, he added.
Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur index .KLSE fell as much as
1.2% after adding 2,593 coronavirus cases to its tally by
Wednesday, the director general of health said https://twitter.com/DGHisham/status/1346810347152310277,
further straining the country's healthcare system.
Travel stocks led declines on the benchmark, while
heavyweight latex glove makers surged.
Several local media outlets https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/healthcare-system-breaking-point-targeted-mco-may-be-needed-%E2%80%94-health-dg
reported https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/01/06/sabah-mulls-lockdown-after-xmas-new-year-gatherings-cause-surge-in-infections/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=2fbbf238ace11f4d29b3b1848678241cc2c1a223-1609995058-0-Aca4SjQbsx5dl_Bc47aTP9avbrocnAaCTOr6B0veQZnflIfYyQHZsqmZQT8qwt1L9GuJTcKa-EWh2mgxA17VlewJ1jW3Y4CMMKmqnS3cc1qh6n4caa2BEGcOYg8_q42d9l7BC8L_k9AUh_wmtZYktLEsO7CpoTbvBkpPol8C4htuSPz2h8pnw9KYZ-3_U1je4UIrokT0i5CDxGf3jIV0ADwcSjNmFDHkf-M7YIk1fuEX3H7-BmoBYz6hil4wDLtDIUbhsmKGfS6V1mpvDg8wSKHBN12QixJx0EY8UZrg907_UdJcVjcl7DoSN0tiGmv-gqp3EuWHXrViOVYck5shFGxe0WlrNnv6kl1HHYzhXwVP0PRYiVEvIPjei_Pa8w6BOHcXI9XJVBt5OdkplvZXKMLZwuWEMi_uJhHGkcXcgXaOFpH8P3oYUM37xuoLQ3IIQt3Qa6ODu8S9Z68tTQ9q6CKUHZ-YShxiHcGgzJBRlLrmnTjpEOD9bPZ00kXreR5TdA
the Malaysian government was mulling targeted lockdowns after
New Year celebrations increased caseload, including in Sabah,
one of the worst hit by the pandemic.
Most Asian currencies were marginally weaker against a flat
greenback .DXY , with the Singapore dollar SGD= , Malaysian
ringgit MYR=MY and the Indonesian rupiah IDR= easing 0.1%
each.
Taiwan's dollar TWD=TP was an outlier, firming 1.5% to
hover at an about 23-year high, a day after the region's central
bank admitted it had intervened in the forex market owing to a
flood of foreign capital. Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves rose by a record $16.514
billion in December, unnerving its government, as it is wary of
being labelled a currency manipulator by Washington, the
island's most important international backer.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields ID10YT=RR are down
0.2 basis points at 6.01%
** Top gainers on the Singapore STI .STI include DBS Group
Holdings Ltd DBSM.SI up 3.4%, and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding
Holdings Ltd YAZG.SI up 3.1%
** Top losers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index .KLSE
include Genting Malaysia Bhd GENM.KL and Genting Bhd GENT.KL
down about 3% each
Asia stock indexes and currencies at
0714 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY STOCKS YTD %
%
Japan JPY= -0.23 -0.04 .N225 1.60 0.17
China CNY=CFXS +0.12 +1.12 .SSEC 0.67 2.92
India INR=IN -0.03 -0.08 .NSEI 0.29 1.47
Indonesia IDR= -0.14 +1.01 .JKSE 1.31 2.78
Malaysia MYR= -0.12 +0.17 .KLSE -0.20 -2.36
Philippines PHP= -0.04 -0.08 .PSI 1.02 -0.28
S.Korea KRW=KFTC -0.16 -0.10 .KS11 2.14 5.51
Singapore SGD= -0.07 +0.18 .STI 1.50 2.19
Taiwan TWD=TP +1.55 +1.82 .TWII 1.54 3.27
Thailand THB=TH -0.20 +0.10 .SETI 1.48 4.49