* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3lKhL5I
* Philippine shares set for second straight day of gains
* Taiwan dollar, S. Korean won outperform among Asia FX
* Thai stocks set for fifth day of losses
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Oct 20 (Reuters) - Philippine shares rose to a two-month
high on Tuesday as the easing of coronavirus restrictions
boosted risk appetite, while Thai shares held near six-month
lows after a sell-off triggered by fears of escalating
anti-government protests.
The Philippines, one of the worst hit in Southeast Asia by
the pandemic, shortened curfew hours in Manila and eased
regulations on stay-at-home orders on Monday, just a week after
a ban on non-essential overseas travel was lifted. Manila's benchmark stock index .PSI , which has largely
underperformed this year, rose 1.7% to its highest since Aug.
19, driven by gains in blue-chip consumer stocks.
"Optimism appears to be driven by hopes for economic
activity to pickup ahead of the holiday season. Gains however
may be capped by reports that metro Manila mayors continue to
lobby for partial quarantine measures be retained for the rest
of the year," said Nicholas Mapa, ING's senior economist for the
Philippines.
Sentiment has also improved after the Philippines' lower
parliamentary house on Friday approved the 2021 budget, aimed at
underpinning a recovery for the economy, which was one of Asia's
fastest-growing prior to the pandemic. Thai stocks .SETI largely swung between positive and
negative territory and the baht THB=TH dipped, as markets
remained on edge after thousands of protesters took to the
streets in Bangkok on Monday and defied a ban on demonstrations
for a fifth day. Analysts at Phillip Securities Thailand said despite some
positive developments that emerged after a court granted bail to
19 protesters, risks that protests could be drawn-out remained
intact. Protesters seek the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth
Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and reforms to reduce the
powers of the monarchy.
"We had factored in rising political uncertainties, but the
political situation now is worse than expected," analysts at
CGS-CIMB Research said in a note.
"Although there is virtually no foreign tourists in the
country, the rising political turmoil would squash domestic
travel....this would aggravate the tourism sector as they are
expecting domestic travelling to provide some cushion during
this challenging time."
Most stock markets and currencies in the rest of the region
traded lower as continuing uncertainty on a stimulus package in
the United State and record daily coronavirus infections in
Europe steered investors away from riskier bets.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC and Taiwan dollar TWD=TP
outperformed with gains of 0.3% and 0.9% respectively against
the greenback.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 2.9 basis
points at 6.662%
** In the Philippines, top index gainers are Jollibee Foods
Corp JFC.PS up 9.51% at 169.3 pesos, GT Capital Holdings Inc
GTCAP.PS up 5.13% at 430 pesos, LT Group Inc LTG.PS up
4.44% at 11.28 pesos
** Top losers on the Singapore STI .STI include:
Comfortdelgro Corporation Ltd CMDG.SI down 2.7% at S$1.44;
Keppel DC REIT KEPE.SI down 2.3% at S$2.97; Wilmar
International Ltd WLIL.SI down 2.27% at S$4.31
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0431 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCK STOCKS
DAILY YTD % S YTD %
% DAILY
%
Japan JPY= -0.10 +2.92 .N225 -0.54 -0.48
China CNY=CFXS -0.08 +4.14 .SSEC -0.13 8.46
India INR=IN +0.01 -2.70 .NSEI 0.30 -2.13
Indonesia IDR= -0.14 -5.51 .JKSE -0.38 -18.94
Malaysia MYR= -0.12 -1.30 .KLSE -0.13 -4.57
Philippin PHP= -0.07 +4.28 .PSI 1.74 -21.64
es
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.25 +1.52 .KS11 -0.31 6.45
Singapore SGD= +0.05 -0.94 .STI -0.60 -21.55
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.88 +4.91 .TWII -0.12 7.46
Thailand THB=TH -0.13 -4.20 .SETI -0.45 -23.84