* Thailand markets closed for a holiday
* Fitch downgrades Malaysia's credit rating; ringgit weaker
* China Nov. exports rise sharply
* China stocks drop on Sino-U.S. tensions
By Anushka Trivedi
Dec 7 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares soared 2% to a near
10-month high on Monday as reports of the arrival of the first
shipment of China's coronavirus vaccine and central bank
promises of low interest rates countered regional concerns over
U.S.-China tensions.
A strong finish to last week in Europe and the United
States, thanks to growing expectations of more government
stimulus soon for coronavirus-hit economies kept most Asian
stock markets in positive territory.
But the gains were muted, with Chinese shares .SSEC and
the yuan CNY=CFXS both down sharply on concerns about ties
with Washington, with Reuters reporting over the weekend that
the Trump administration was ready to sanction at least a dozen
Chinese officials. The Jakarta index .JKSE climbed after local media reported
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/12/05/indonesia-greenlights-adoption-of-major-covid-19-vaccines.html?src=mostviewed&pg=
over the weekend that the government would allow coronavirus
vaccine usage, and President Joko Widodo said the country had
received its first shipment of the vaccine.
Bank Indonesia said it would keep interest rates low and
predicted policy normalisation was still some way off.
"Availability of vaccine is definitely a major sentiment
booster with the hope that economic activity would recover
soon," said Kunal Kundu, an economist with Societe Generale,
while warning Indonesia's lack of infrastructure and large
population will be major challenges.
Southeast Asia's largest economy has been hit hard by the
pandemic as it spiralled into its first recession in 20 years in
the third quarter and coronavirus cases have continued to
rapidly climb in recent weeks.
Chinese shares dropped 0.8% and the yuan slipped 0.2% to
pull back from a two-and-a-half-year high hit last week, even as
the world's second biggest economy reported a surge in November
exports. Sources told Reuters on Friday that policymakers were
comfortable with the yuan's recent strength as a rebound in the
Chinese economy accelerates and the central bank gives the
market greater leeway in setting the currency's value.
Most other emerging Asian currencies eased against a firmer
greenback .DXY , with only the Taiwanese dollar TWD=TP a
stand out, with a 1% gain.
The ringgit MYR=MY fell 0.3% after Fitch downgraded
Malaysia's credit rating on expectations of increased fiscal
pressure, debt and political uncertainty. Financial markets in Thailand were shut due to a holiday.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 3.6 basis
points at 6.234%
** Top gainers on the Jakarta stock index .JKSE : Island
Concepts Indonesia Tbk PT ICON.JK up 34.7% & Pool Advista
Finance Tbk PT POLA.JK up 34.7%
** Top losers on the Singapore STI .STI include: UOL Group
Ltd UTOS.SI down 2% and City Developments Ltd CTDM.SI down
1.7%
Asia stock indexes and currencies at
0657 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
Japan JPY= +0.02 +4.31 .N225 -0.76 12.22
China CNY=CFXS -0.16 +6.46 .SSEC -0.85 11.97
India INR=IN +0.04 -3.23 .NSEI 0.53 9.53
Indonesia IDR= -0.11 -1.56 .JKSE 1.91 -6.00
Malaysia MYR= -0.32 +0.44 .KLSE 0.18 2.27
Philippines PHP= -0.02 +5.28 .PSI 0.97 -7.83
S.Korea KRW=KFTC +0.00 +6.87 .KS11 0.51 24.93
Singapore SGD= -0.01 +0.67 .STI 0.11 -11.79
Taiwan TWD=TP +0.96 +6.57 .TWII 0.88 18.83