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* Philippine president signs $93.7 bln national budget for
2021
* S.Korea stocks set to snap three-day winning streak
* Thai baht adds nearly 0.5%
By Pranav A K
Dec 29 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares declined on Tuesday as
glove makers shed some of this year's rally, while the
Philippines' record budget powered that country's benchmark to
its gain in about two weeks.
The Kuala Lumpur index fell as much as 0.6%, with
heavyweights Top Glove Corp and Hartalega Holdings
down for a third session to lead losses on the
benchmark.
The glove makers, which enjoyed a surge in demand during the
coronavirus crisis, have lost some support as vaccines were
approved and have come under further pressure over their
treatment of migrant workers.
"It has coincided with the start of the European vaccination
roll-out ... investors are looking ahead to the future with
COVID-19, and reassessing the outlook for glove makers," said
Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Philippine shares rose 0.6% in their last trading day
of the year, getting a boost from President Rodrigo Duterte
approving a record budget in a bid to support the
pandemic-ravaged economy. That was the biggest intraday gain
since Dec. 16.
The 4.5 trillion peso ($93.73 billion) budget came as what
was formerly one of Asia's fastest expanding economies struggles
to get back to growth and contain infections.
On Monday, partial curbs in Manila were extended until the
end of January as the country with the second-highest number of
COVID-19 cases and casualties in Southeast Asia looks to guard
itself against the spread of a new coronavirus variant.
Stock markets in Indonesia and Thailand also
slipped in thin trading, while Seoul's KOSPI was on
course to snap a three-day winning streak as heavyweights
including Samsung Electronics traded ex-dividend.
Currencies across Asia's emerging markets were flat to
stronger as the dollar languished amid optimism around a
COVID-19 relief package in the United States.
The Taiwanese dollar led the pack, holding near its
highest level since 1997 while the Thai baht added
nearly 0.5%.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down
17.1 basis points at 5.926%
** Top losers on FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index:
Hartalega Holdings Bhd down 3.7% and Top Glove
Corporation Bhd down 2.7%
** In the Philippines, top index gainers are Megaworld Corp
up 3.03%, BDO Unibank Inc up 2.11% AND Ayala
Corp up 1.97%
Asia stock indexes and currencies at
0501 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD %
Japan +0.12 +4.78 2.09 15.89
China +0.10 +6.60 -0.33 11.02
India +0.17 -2.73 0.58 14.67
Indonesia +0.00 -1.84 -0.29 -3.55
Malaysia -0.04 +0.99 -0.37 3.08
Philippines +0.04 +5.50 0.62 -8.30
S.Korea +0.42 +5.89 -0.23 27.50
Singapore +0.08 +1.17 0.23 -11.67
Taiwan +1.51 +7.13 -0.21 20.47
Thailand +0.40 -0.43 -0.55 -8.56
($1 = 48.0100 Philippine pesos)
(Reporting by A K Pranav in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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