* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3lKhL5I
* Philippine shares on track for best week since June
* Malaysia stocks lag region
* S. Korean won at strongest level since April 2019
Oct 21 (Reuters) - Philippine shares on Wednesday surged to their highest level since July
after the country reported its lowest daily increase in coronavirus infections in a month, with
stocks and currencies across the rest of Asia broadly higher on U.S. stimulus hopes.
Easing travel restrictions and timely passage of the 2021 budget have already helped Manila
stocks .PSI surge more than 6% for the week. The index advanced 2.7% on Wednesday, in its best
session in more than four-and-a-half months. "We have been arguing that despite rising COVID-19 cases economies will continue to open in
ASEAN, helping growth to recover from very depressed levels. Philippines is no exception to
that," said Devendra Joshi, director and equity strategist, ASEAN and Frontier Markets, at HSBC.
"We are not far from the bottom. Valuations are cheap and foreign investors are underweight.
This is all supportive for the market."
Malaysian shares .KLSE were the notable underperformer in the region, slipping 0.8% to be
down for the second straight session.
Data showed the country's consumer price index fell for the seventh straight month in
September, and ANZ Research's Kanika Bhatnagar and Sanjay Mathur said in a note they were
concerned by the softening in components associated with discretionary spending. "Amid a rising virus case load and new mobility restrictions, the pace of growth recovery
and reflation will come under renewed pressure," they said.
Renewed expectations for a U.S. COVID-19 relief bill before the presidential election lifted
sentiment across the region and pushed the U.S. dollar to a one-month low.
Taiwan's dollar TWD=TP , which has gained around 5% against the greenback so far this year,
firmed for the third consecutive day. The currency rose 1% after data showed export orders rose
for a seventh consecutive month in September. "While it does hurt the competitiveness of their export economy to some extent, given Taiwan
is one of the few economies to bounce back from COVID swiftly, that gives the central bank some
buffer to withstand currency appreciation," said Mahesh Sethuraman, deputy head of global sales
trading at Saxo Capital Markets.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 4.8 basis points at 6.611%
** In the Philippines, top index gainers were Bank of the Philippine Islands BPI.PS up
9.86%, Alliance Global Group AGI.PS up 6.67% and DMCI Holdings DMC.PS up 5.44%
** Top losers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index include Top Glove TPGC.KL down 5.91%,
Hartalega Holdings HTHB.KL down 5.04% and Sime Darby Plantation SIPL.KL down 1.41%
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0653 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
Japan JPY= +0.26 +3.22 .N225 0.31 -0.07
China CNY=CFXS +0.51 +4.82 .SSEC -0.24 8.85
India INR=IN +0.04 -2.76 .NSEI 0.90 -1.36
Indonesia IDR= +0.21 -5.06 .JKSE -0.06 -19.09
Malaysia MYR= +0.17 -1.23 .KLSE -0.78 -5.64
Philippines PHP= -0.08 +4.33 .PSI 2.71 -19.66
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.66 +2.16 .KS11 0.53 7.88
Singapore SGD= +0.20 -0.75 .STI 0.49 -21.16
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.99 +5.09 .TWII 0.12 7.34
Thailand THB=TH -0.06 -4.26 .SETI 0.95 -22.64