* Indonesia stocks fall 5%, forcing an automatic trading
pause
* Malaysia policy rate left at 1.75%
* Don't see further cuts by BNM - economist
Sept 10 (Reuters) - Indonesian stocks plunged 5% on Thursday
and the central bank intervened to steady the rupiah after
COVID-19 curbs were re-imposed in Jakarta, while Indian markets
rose on news of likely further foreign investment in
conglomerate Reliance Industries .
The fall in Jakarta .JKSE was the biggest since March and
was in contrast to most other Asian markets, which returned to
positive territory after U.S. stocks halted their slide
overnight. .N
Stocks in Mumbai .NSEI and Seoul .KS11 rose 1.2% and
0.9%, respectively, while Malaysian markets reacted little after
the central bank kept interest rates unchanged.
Signs of more big foreign investment in Reliance Industries
Ltd RELI.NS , now India's first $200 billion company, bolstered
Indian markets and sent the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate to a
record high. .BO
Meanwhile, trading in Jakarta was automatically halted for
30 minutes in the morning after the index dropped 5%. It fell
slightly further once trading resumed.
The Indonesian capital of Jakarta is set to reinstate social
restrictions similar to those used between April and June from
Monday, a move that surprised analysts as the governor pointed
to the strain on its healthcare system after infections averaged
1,000 a day this month. Markets in Indonesia have been grappling for two weeks with
concerns over the health crisis, growth and government moves to
use the central bank to help with bond market funding, which has
seen the rupiah retreat around 1.5% since the end of August.
Mirae Asset Sekuritas said banks, retail, toll road and
automotive companies would be the worst hit, pointing to the
impact of the previous lockdown, when those sectors had
experienced the biggest foreign outflows.
Malaysian stocks .KLSE also lost around 1%. The country's
central bank decided to keep its key interest rates unchanged at
1.75%, the lead up to which had left economists split.
Like many of the region's central banks, Bank Negara
Malaysia (BNM) has already slashed rates by 125 basis points
this year to ease the pandemic's impact on its economy.
The ringgit MYR= was around 0.2% higher against the dollar
after the decision, with BNM saying the economy was showing
tentative signs of recovery.
Julia Goh, a senior Malaysia economist for UOB, said the
decision suggests "a shift towards a neutral policy stance that
implies no further rate cuts" this year.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 3-year benchmark yields down 2.5 basis points
to 4.959%
** Malaysia's 3-year benchmark yield up 4.5 basis points to
1.896%
** Top losers in Jakarta .JKSE were Integra Indocabinet
Tbk PT WOOD.JK , Panorama Sentrawisata Tbk PT PANR.JK and
Phapros Tbk PT PEHA.JK
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0736 GMT
COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %
Japan JPY= +0.13 +2.43 .N225 0.88 -1.78
China CNY=CFXS -0.10 +1.82 .SSEC -0.61 6.06
India INR=IN +0.18 -2.75 .NSEI 1.33 -6.08
Indonesia IDR= -0.14 -6.22 .JKSE -5.05 -22.39
Malaysia MYR= +0.22 -1.71 .KLSE -0.89 -6.63
Philippines PHP= +0.11 +4.34 .PSI -0.51 -24.48
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.35 -2.41 .KS11 0.87 9.05
Singapore SGD= -0.11 -1.71 .STI -0.41 -22.77
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.20 +2.16 .TWII 0.66 5.79
Thailand THB=TH +0.19 -4.50 .SETI -0.27 -18.36