* Rupiah set for worst day since May 20
* S.Korea's won tracks biggest drop since June 2
* China, Taiwan markets closed
* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Asian stock markets: tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Shashwat Awasthi
June 14 (Reuters) - Indonesia's rupiah was set for its
biggest daily drop in more than three weeks on Monday, as a
sustained spike in coronavirus infections threatened to tarnish
the country's economic growth projections.
Trading in most other emerging Asian markets was thinned by
holidays in China and Taiwan, and as investors awaited monetary
policy meetings, including the U.S. Federal Reserve's, this
week.
The rupiah weakened 0.3% and was on track for its
biggest one-day fall since May 20. Stocks in Jakarta
inched up amid expectations that Bank Indonesia will keep
interest rates at record lows on Thursday.
Indonesia has reported its highest number of daily COVID-19
cases since February over the last few days, prompting the
country's finance minister to warn of a hit to second-quarter
gross domestic product growth forecast.
"While the worst appears to be over for the economy, the
post Eid-ul-Fitr spike in COVID-19 cases threatens a delayed
reopening and likely a more moderate bounce back in real GDP
growth from last year's modest contraction," Societe Generale
analysts had said in a note last week.
The Fed meeting on Wednesday will be the main event this
week, with markets keen to note the central bank's suggestions
around rising inflation or signals that it would move away from
ultra-loose monetary policy earlier than expected.
"There appears to be limited scope for a hawkish surprise at
this meeting," analysts at Barclays said in a note.
"Despite a sharp rise in long-term UST yields in Q1 and
increasing focus on Fed tapering, financial markets have
remained largely sanguine this year and a benign FOMC outcome
should support risk and EM FX in the near term."
Emerging market assets have recorded healthy inflows in
recent weeks with U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar under
pressure as markets have largely shrugged off worries over
rising U.S. inflation.
Philippine shares have surged more than 11% in the
last three weeks, stocks in Thailand, Taiwan and
Vietnam have rallied more than 5% each over that period,
and Indian stocks have hit record highs.
Malaysia's ringgit and Thailand's baht, both
about 0.2% lower on the day, have risen for the last three
weeks.
Taiwan's central bank will also hold a monetary policy
meeting on Thursday, while the Bank of Japan will announce its
rate decision on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 7.3 basis
points at 6.361%
** Top gainers on the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index include Top
Glove up 1.9%, Supermax up 1.6% and
Hartalega Holdings up 1.5%
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0621 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
Japan -0.07 -5.91 0.74 6.26
China 0.00 +2.04 0.00 3.36
India -0.15 -0.15 -0.56 12.36
Indonesia -0.23 -1.27 0.09 2.04
Malaysia -0.17 -2.26 0.53 -2.69
Philippines -0.20 +0.30 0.14 -3.11
S.Korea -0.54 -2.74 0.16 13.26
Singapore -0.08 -0.44 -0.10 10.94
Taiwan 0.00 +3.08 0.00 16.84
Thailand -0.13 -3.67 0.01 12.93
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shailesh Kuber)
