* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3f2vwbA
* Singapore shares hit near two-week low
* Export-focused Asian FX decline the most
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
July 14 (Reuters) - Singapore shares fell nearly 1% on
Tuesday as the city-state reported its deepest second-quarter
contraction in history, while simmering Sino-U.S. tensions and
rising coronavirus infections dented confidence across the
region.
Preliminary Singapore data showed economic growth in one of
the world's biggest trading hubs plunged by a record 41.2% from
the previous three months as the coronavirus pandemic took a
heavy toll on businesses. Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index .STI , which has
largely underperformed in the region so far this year, hit a
near two-week low with the financial and real estate sector
dominating losses.
The Singapore dollar SGD=D3 dipped 0.2%.
"Even with a widely expected bottoming in Q2, the worry is
about a long hard slog back, with the path to recovery littered
with uncertainty," Mizuho Bank analysts said in a note.
Losses in China outpaced those elsewhere, with the Shanghai
Composite index .SSEC down over 1%, as investors worried about
the huge rise in coronavirus infections globally - up by 1
million in the just five days.
The moves in Asian stock markets followed Wall Street where
a selloff accelerated after California Governor Gavin Newsom
ordered a massive retrenchment of the state's reopening,
shutting bars and banning indoor restaurant dining statewide.
South Korean .KS11 and Thai shares .SETI were down about
half a percent while the Philippines, the region's worst
performer in recent days, lost another quarter of a percent.
"The California rollback will spur worries about broader and
more wide-sweeping lockdowns," said Stephen Innes, chief global
market strategist at AxiCorp.
Diplomatic tensions also lurked in the background after the
United States rejected China's disputed claims to offshore
resources in most of the South China Sea - a shift in tone which
prompted a rebuke from Beijing. That pulled investors toward the relative security of the
dollar USD= and took some of the shine off
better-than-expected trade figures from China. The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS , Thai baht THB=TH and South
Korean won KRW=KFTC were the worst hit, weakening between 0.2%
and 0.5% against the dollar.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Philippine 10yr-yields are down more than 200 basis
points since March
** Top losers on the Singapore STI .STI include Singapore
Technologies Engineering Ltd STEG.SI down 1.83% at S$3.21;
SATS Ltd SATS.SI down 1.8% at S$2.73; Hongkong Land Holdings
Ltd HKLD.SI down 1.73% at S$3.98
** Top losers on Thailand's SETI .SETI include Surapon
Foods PCL SSF.BK down 13.28% at 5.55 baht; Samui Buri Property
Fund SBPFu.BK down 7.5% at 2.22 baht
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0405 GMT
COUNTRY FX FX FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
RIC DAILY % % DAILY YTD %
%
Japan