* Singapore, S. Korea shares gain
* China March exports and imports rise
* Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia equities down
By Sameer Manekar
April 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were muted and
equities mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited inflation data
from the United States before making further bets, while
Singapore stocks gained after five days of losses before a
central bank meeting on Wednesday.
Singapore shares .STI advanced as much as 0.4%, while
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 jumped 1.2% to a two-month high
helped by tech heavyweights and buying by foreigners. .KS
South Korea's central bank is expected to hold interest
rates at all time lows at its policy review on Thursday, while
Singapore's central bank is seen keeping its exchange-rate based
policy settings unchanged on Wednesday, according to separate
Reuters polls. "While the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is not
expected to tweak its policy settings, a shift towards a better
outlook could portend an October move," analysts at Singapore
bank DBS said.
"We think that the correction lower in SGD rates may be
largely done and the market will be more sensitive to movements
in USD rates as speculation of Fed taper intensifies in the
coming months."
The Singapore dollar SGD= traded 0.1% lower by 0336 GMT.
U.S. consumer inflation data for March due later on Tuesday
may spur some moves, as a likely acceleration could push U.S.
Treasury yields and the dollar higher and reduce the appeal of
emerging market assets. Rising coronavirus cases across Asia are also reviving
growth concerns as potential lock downs threaten to derail
economic recovery and test the limits of central banks'
accommodative policies. The Philippines, which is battling one of the worst
outbreaks in Asia, saw its bourse .PSI slide as much as 1.2%.
The index fell for the third straight session, despite some
virus-led curbs being eased on Monday. In India, where fresh cases have soared to record highs this
week, the rupee INR= continued to hover near an eight-month
low.
Meanwhile, trade data from Asian powerhouse China showed
robust growth in exports and imports in March, signalling an
improvement in global demand as worldwide COVID-19 vaccination
progresses. Thai markets were closed for a public holiday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesia's 10-year benchmark yields flat at 6.543%
** U.S. benchmark 10-year benchmark yields up 1.11 basis
points to 1.6871%
** India's retail inflation jumps to a four-month high in
March Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0402 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK
DAILY YTD X S S YTD
% % DAILY %
%
Japan JPY= -0.30 -5.8 <.N2 +1.11 8.74
9 25>
China