Emerging Markets – Rupiah, Saham Naik Karena Bank Indonesia Tahan Suku Bunga

    * Bank Indonesia says Q4 GDP will expand, FY21 outlook
bright
    * Asian stock markets rise across the board after recent
slump
    * Japan's equity markets closed for a holiday

    By Anushka Trivedi
    July 22 (Reuters) - The rupiah saw its best day in almost
two weeks on Thursday, as Bank Indonesia (BI) held interest
rates steady to support the pandemic-ravaged economy and sounded
optimism on 2021 growth, even as most of the country remained
under tough curbs.
    Regional peers Singapore's dollar, the South Korean
won and Taiwan's dollar also gained, basking
in the greenback's weakness as risk appetite rebounded with
strong earnings lifting Wall Street stocks overnight. 
    The rupiah firmed 0.4% after the Indonesian central
bank kept its key interest rate at a record low of 3.50% as
widely expected, and said it would strenghthen measures to
stabilise the currency after a bout of volatility. 
    The rupiah has weakened 2.5% over the past six weeks since
the COVID-19 situation in the heavily-populated Indonesia
worsened, with total cases nearing 3 million amid a slow
vaccination rate and a creaky healthcare system.
    However, BI predicted fiscal 2021 growth could be higher
than the midpoint of its 3.5%-4.3% range, citing a
less-than-expected decline in activity during current mobility
curbs while banking on vaccinations gathering pace. 
    Local stocks jumped 1.8%, with lenders leading the
gains as the central bank forecast better loan growth and
promised it would keep providing ample liquidity.
    "BI has less room to deliver a rate cut going forward, as
U.S. monetary policy looks to tighten with a taper of asset
purchases in the coming months," said Wei Liang Chang,
macro-strategist at DBS Bank.
    "That said, Indonesia's policy rate is already at an
accommodative level, and it will support an eventual recovery
when the pandemic's impact eases," he added.    
    Asian equities tracked their global counterparts higher,
with analysts pegging the gains on "buy the dip" behaviour and
positive sentiment from the U.S. markets.
    Most stock indexes in the region like in India,
Malaysia and Thailand have declined on a
month-to-date basis as concerns over a Delta variant-led spike
in COVID-19 infections and lockdowns worried investors.
    The Philippine stock index was up 1.6% on Thursday
after four sessions of heavy losses, while Singapore and
South Korea equities rose more than 1% each.
     
HIGHLIGHTS
    
    ** Thai central bank says virus outbreak to cut GDP by
0.8-2.0% in 2021
    ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 2 basis
points at 6.307%
    ** Bank Central Asia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia
(Persero) Tbk among top gainers on Jakarta index, up
2.3% and 2.1%, respectively
    
  Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0807 GMT                                             
 COUNTRY       FX RIC        FX DAILY %   FX YTD %     INDEX   STOCKS DAILY %   STOCKS YTD %
 Japan                            -0.04      -6.41                       0.00           0.38
 China                            +0.04      +0.96                       0.34           2.93
 India                            +0.24      -1.84                       1.21          13.16
 Indonesia                        +0.41      -3.04                       1.78           2.65
 Malaysia                         +0.17      -4.81                       0.50          -6.34
 Philippines                      -0.02      -4.23                       1.55          -7.89
 S.Korea                          +0.36      -5.54                       1.07          13.11
 Singapore                        +0.16      -2.96                       1.33          11.14
 Taiwan                           +0.20      +1.66                       0.65          19.28
 Thailand                         -0.06      -8.80                       0.61           6.97
 
    
 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V)