* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Rupiah set for best week since early-November
* Rupiah could outperform peers - analyst
* Lenders lift up Singapore stocks; OCBC doubles Q1 profit
By Anushka Trivedi
May 7 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah and the South Korean
won both firmed by 0.5%, leading gains among Asian currencies on
Friday as the dollar backtracked ahead of key jobs data, while
Asian stocks received a boost from China's positive economic
data.
The rupiah IDR= hit a two-month high and was headed for
its best week since early November as the country's quarterly
economic output data on Wednesday hinted at mild recovery and as
foreign investors returned to the country's high-yielding bonds.
An exodus of outflows, dividend repatriation pressure and
concerns about Bank Indonesia's autonomy had seen the rupiah
slump this year, but it recently found favour among
yield-seekers as the Federal Reserve asserted a dovish stance.
As of last close, the yields on Indonesia's benchmark
10-year bonds ID10YT=RR were down 43.6 basis points from its
March highs. On the day, yields fell 1 basis points to 6.445%.
"The rupiah is undervalued and is seeing a relief rally on
Q1 growth showing a nascent turnaround," said Chang Wei Liang,
macro-strategist at DBS Bank.
"With positioning in the rupiah assets still relatively
light, further optimism over growth could see the currency
outperforming regional peers."
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC had its best day in a week,
while the Malaysian ringgit MYR=MY , Taiwan's dollar TWD=TP
and the Thai baht THB=TH firmed between 0.1% to 0.3% as the
greenback USD= eased.
U.S. payrolls data on Friday will likely confirm the
economy's solid path to recovery from the pandemic, and even
though it could potentially stoke inflation worries, so far the
Fed has downplayed the risks of higher prices.
Meanwhile, Thailand .SETI and Taiwan shares .TWII jumped
about 1% each, while South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 rallied 0.7%
after China's surprise export surge and solid services data for
April cemented hopes of continuing economic recovery in the
region's top trade partner.
Heavyweight lenders propped up Singapore's bourse .STI
after strong quarterly results at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
OCBC.SI and United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI .
HIGHLIGHTS
** Lenders drag Indonesia stocks .JKSE
** Singapore Press SPRM.SI shares tumble up to 15% after
restructuring plan ** India's daily COVID-19 cases rise by record 414,188
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0403 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
%
Japan JPY= -0.01 -5.36 .N225 0.07 6.96
China CNY=CFXS +0.06 +1.07 .SSEC 0.42 -0.50
India INR=IN 0.00 -0.94 .NSEI 0.78 6.14
Indonesia IDR= +0.23 -1.69 .JKSE -0.37 -0.52
Malaysia MYR= +0.16 -2.27 .KLSE 0.30 -2.71
Philippines PHP= -0.04 +0.23 .PSI 0.15 -11.87
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.46 -3.08 .KS11 0.66 11.35
Singapore SGD= +0.04 -0.89 .STI 0.72 12.38
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.28 +2.04 .TWII 1.10 16.62
Thailand THB=TH +0.06 -4.01 .SETI 0.96 9.50