* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* Malaysian glove makers drag shares lower
* Light volumes as Japan, Singapore closed
* China data boosts hopes of an economic recovery
* South Korean stocks hit over 2-year high
By Nikhil Nainan
Aug 10 (Reuters) - South Korea led gains across Asia's
emerging stock markets on Monday as an improvement in Chinese
factory data calmed nerves over a ramp up in U.S.-China tensions
ahead of trade talks at the end of the week.
Monday's data showed this year's fall in Chinese factory
prices slowed in July. Allied with stronger-than-expected export
numbers on Friday, analysts said industrial activity was
climbing back to pre-COVID-19 levels, boosting trade-sensitive
markets in the region and sending South Korean shares to
a more than two-year high.
Chinese stocks were more than 1% higher, ahead of an
update due this weekend on the U.S.-China trade deal, which
follows President Donald Trump deciding to ban WeChat and TikTok
last week and announcing sanctions on senior Chinese and Hong
Kong officials.
Morgan Stanley said in a note the meeting on Saturday was
the main source of risk for emerging markets this week.
Trading was lighter than usual due to holidays in Japan and
Singapore, and moves were tight in the region's currencies after
gains in the past month due to weakness in the U.S. dollar. Both
Malaysia's ringgit and Indonesia's rupiah eased
around a quarter of a percent.
In the Philippines, shares rose 1.5% late in the
session on hopes that the capital, Manila, could reopen as
planned by the middle of next week even as COVID-19 cases spike.
Jennifer Lomboy, a fund manager at First Metro Asset
Management, said the jump followed "optimism on the reopening of
economy as the Chairperson of the National Task Force on
COVID-19 said Metro Manila is ready for less stringent
quarantine measures."
Meanwhile, upbeat earnings from drugmakers helped Indian
shares extend gains into a fifth session.
Malaysia was the outlier, falling 0.5% as the country's top
glove makers fell sharply after a recent run of gains.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Top Malaysian glove makers Top Glove Corp and
Hartalega Holdings fall 2.4% and 2.7%, respectively
** Hartalega and Top Glove shares nearly doubled in July
from June; Brokerage CGS-CIMB said the weightage of both
companies on the index has grown
** Indonesian 3-year benchmark yields are up 5.3 basis
points to 5.315%
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0656 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
Japan +0.02 +2.57 - -5.61
China -0.01 -0.07 0.81 10.85
India +0.02 -4.72 1.01 -6.91
Indonesia -0.27 -5.06 0.09 -18.27
Malaysia -0.21 -2.50 -0.43 -1.09
Philippines +0.01 +3.23 1.45 -24.11
S.Korea -0.08 -2.46 1.48 8.59
Singapore -0.07 -2.11 - -21.02
Taiwan +0.45 +2.46 0.51 7.48
Thailand -0.03 -3.98 0.32 -15.90
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Richard Pullin and Arun Koyyur)
Source: Read Full Article