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* Thailand extends lockdown to contain coronavirus spread
* China reports slowdown in factory activity
* Malaysia stocks drop to more than 9-month trough
By Soumyajit Saha
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Thailand's baht was on track for its worst
session in two weeks on Monday, while Malaysia's ringgit was set
to see its worst day in more than a week, as the two Southeast
Asian countries continued to battle a surge in coronavirus
cases.
The baht weakened as much as 0.33% in its worst
session since July 19, while the ringgit lost 0.17%.
Thailand on Sunday extended tight restrictions in the
capital and other high-risk provinces, as it faced COVID-19
outbreaks fuelled by the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta
variants.
Meanwhile, the country also saw anti-government protesters
take to the streets on Sunday to demand the resignation of Prime
Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha over his handling of the coronavirus
crisis.
In Malaysia, a special parliamentary sitting was cut short
after the detection of infections in the building, as the
country reported record COVID-19 infections on Saturday.
Malaysia's prime minister had faced calls to resign last
week after a rare rebuke by the king over the government's
handling of emergency ordinances.
Economies in Asia "are taking it on the chin in the third
quarter," Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economics Research
at HSBC, said in a note to clients.
"Consumer spending is bound to falter as restrictions bite,
and worries over infections is chilling activity more broadly,
including investment," Neumann added.
Malaysia stocks dropped about 0.5% to their lowest
in nearly nine months, while Thai stocks fell to their
lowest in almost three months, though shares recuperated
slightly later.
Elsewhere, China stocks rebounded over 1% following
the previous week's more than 4% fall on jitters from a
crackdown on the country's private education sector.
The world's second-biggest economy reported on Saturday a
slowdown in factory activity, as higher raw material costs,
equipment maintenance and extreme weather weighed.
Investors also expect a slowdown in supply chains across
Asia as western economies open up and shift back to services
consumption, with pent-up demand fading.
In Southeast Asia, Philippine stocks rebounded more
than 1%, having dropped over 3% in Friday's session, while
Singapore stocks fell 0.3%.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Thailand's 10-year government bond yields down 2 basis points
at 1.57%
** Indonesian 3-year benchmark yields up 2.1 basis points at
4.413%
** Singapore's 10-year benchmark yield down 1.2 basis points at
1.295%
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0323 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY YTD % DAILY YTD %
% %
Japan +0.02 -5.87 1.68 1.09
China -0.07 +0.96 1.05 -1.15
India +0.00 -1.81 0.00 12.74
Indonesia -0.03 -2.94 0.02 1.54
Malaysia -0.14 -4.83 -0.11 -8.25
Philippines -0.12 -4.04 0.78 -11.49
S.Korea -0.22 -5.78 0.24 11.71
Singapore +0.04 -2.40 -0.29 11.03
Taiwan +0.12 +1.97 0.23 17.33
Thailand -0.27 -9.05 -0.29 4.71
(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by
Jacqueline Wong)
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