* Singapore shares record worst day in nearly a year
* Taiwan stocks clock worst week in over a year
* Philippine shares reverse losses from six-month lows
* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Soumyajit Saha
May 14 (Reuters) - Singapore stocks tumbled more than 3% on
Friday after the city-state's imposition of the strictest
COVID-19 curbs since last year stoked worries of a potential
unravelling of its nascent recovery.
Most Asian stocks, however, strengthened on reassurances
from the U.S. Federal Reserve that a spike in inflation was
temporary, with China .SSEC and South Korea .KS11 shares
advancing 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively. Singapore stocks .STI marked their worst session in nearly
a year and the dollar SGD= fell 0.2% as the city-state
tightened restrictions on social gatherings and public
activities amid a rise in locally acquired infections.
The Asian trade and financial hub had been reporting almost
zero or single-digit daily local infections for months, before a
recent rise.
Losses were driven by a 7% slump in flag carrier Singapore
Airlines SIAL.SI and a 4% drop in in-flight caterer SATS Ltd
SATS.SI .
"Quick reopening hopes have been dashed, especially for the
travel and leisure sectors," Bank of Singapore analyst Moh Siong
Sim said.
"Manufacturing should hold up as has been the case over the
past year."
Taiwan shares .TWII rose 1% to snap four sessions of
losses after Premier Su Tseng-chang said the COVID-19 alert
level would not be raised and that there were enough resources
to fight the pandemic. The bourse though registered its worst week in over a year
as it lost more than 8%, amid tighter curbs in public places
forced by a rare and unexpected rise in COVID cases.
Philippine shares .PSI reversed losses to rise 0.5% as
market participants picked up beaten-down stocks, an analyst
said, after dropping as much as 2.5% to six-month lows earlier
in the session.
Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS firmed 0.3% to lead gains among
Asian currencies as the dollar USD= weakened, with investors
assessing the risk of U.S. inflation rising faster than
expected.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down about 0.90
basis points at 6.405%
** India's COVID-19 cases cross 24 million
** In the Philippines, top index gainers are SM Investments
Corp SM.PS up 4.3% and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc AEV.PS up
2.3%
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0626 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY YTD % DAILY YTD %
% %
Japan JPY= -0.01 -5.68 .N225 2.32 2.33
China CNY=CFXS +0.28 +1.42 .SSEC 1.65 0.38
India INR=IN +0.08 -0.40 .NSEI -0.36 4.74
Philippines PHP= +0.10 +0.50 .PSI 0.53 -12.19
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.09 -3.73 .KS11 1.11 9.86
Singapore SGD= -0.23 -1.15 .STI -3.07 6.46
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.00 +1.74 .TWII 1.00 7.43
Thailand THB=TH -0.06 -4.49 .SETI -0.07 6.74