* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3f2vwbA
* Surge in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines
* Malaysian interest rates likely to be cut on Tuesday -
Reuters
Poll
By Nikhil Nainan
July 6 (Reuters) - Philippine shares weakened on Monday,
failing to catch a broader regional rally as a surge in new
coronavirus cases in the Southeast Asian country sowed fears of
fresh economic restrictions.
Stocks and currencies across Asia's emerging and developed
markets were broadly higher, led by a 4% surge for China's main
index .SSEC that traders said was driven by the easy money
still flooding the global financial system.
Sunday, however, saw the biggest one-day jump yet in
COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, crossing 2,000 a day for the
first time and sending stocks there .PSI down 0.5%.
The health ministry attributed the increase to more people
coming in contact with one another as some restrictions ease.
"The possibility of localised lock downs and likely pullback
in economic activity due to consumers mitigating exposure to the
virus has the mood downbeat in the Philippine equity market,"
said Nicholas Mapa, ING's senior economist for Philippines.
South Korea .KS11 , Taiwan .TWII and Malaysian stocks
.KLSE all rose more than 1% on the back of the gains in
Shanghai, while markets in India NSEI , Singapore .STI and
Indonesia .JKSE also saw gains.
Investors have turned more bullish on Chinese stocks, with
sizable foreign inflows and massive margin borrowing last week
highlighting hopes among investors of a sustained economic
recovery and confidence in the government's ability to crush any
resurgence in the virus. Malaysia's ringgit MYR= stuck to a tight range ahead of a
central bank meeting on Tuesday where interest rates may be cut
by 25 basis points to their lowest ever, according to a slim
majority of economists polled by Reuters. The yield on Malaysian 10-year bonds MY10YT=RR opened 2.1
basis points lower before rebounding back to levels close to
Friday's close.
Shares .KLSE were at their highest in nearly a month.
Markets in Thailand were closed for a holiday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** First Gen Corp FGEN.PS was the top loser in the
Philippines, down 5.8%, followed by Bloomberry Resorts Corp
BLOOM.PS and Security Bank Corp SECB.PS
** Top gainers in Malaysia include Top Glove Corp Bhd
TPGC.KL Petronas Gas Bhd PGAS.KL
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0404 GMT
COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %
Japan JPY= -0.17 +0.86 .N225 1.42 -4.36
China CNY=CFXS +0.19 -1.28 .SSEC 4.24 7.75
India INR=IN 0.00 -4.35 .NSEI 0.88 -12.06
Indonesia IDR= -0.14 -4.08 .JKSE 0.39 -20.74
Malaysia MYR= +0.09 -4.48 .KLSE 1.07 -1.22
Philippines PHP= +0.16 +2.42 .PSI -0.49 -18.86
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.17 -3.36 .KS11 1.68 -0.42
Singapore SGD= +0.22 -3.38 .STI 0.83 -16.99
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.61 +2.30 .TWII 1.41 0.67