* Indonesia scraps changes to central bank law
* South Korea stocks drop after interest rate left unchanged
* Taiwan dollar gains further
* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Asian stock markets: tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Jan 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's rupiah firmed on Friday on
forecast-beating trade data and the scrapping of proposed
changes to central bank laws, while Asia's emerging stock
markets dipped as investors looked toward implementation of the
$1.9 trillion of U.S. fiscal aid.
Among equities, South Korean shares fell 1.5% as the
central bank left its policy rate unchanged while other emerging
stock markets largely dipped as details of U.S. President-elect
Joe Biden's proposed aid did not stray from what was expected
and investors awaited its implementation.
"Asia markets can be seen keeping it mixed with the muted
reaction towards President-elect Joe Biden's latest stimulus
plan, contemplating the process of delivery," said Jingyi Pan, a
senior market analyst at IG in Singapore.
Analysts at ANZ said markets are "heavily positioned for
success all round" and "there is little room for any
disappointment."
Indonesia's December exports and imports beat forecasts,
helping Southeast Asia's largest economy book its biggest annual
trade surplus since 2011 and propped up the rupiah, which
gained 0.2%.
"Exports to China have been a major factor for the export
sector's resilience during the pandemic and we can expect this
trend to continue in 2021," ING said in a note.
A controversial proposal to revise the central bank act was
also dropped. The plan, announced last year, had raised concerns
about undermining Bank Indonesia's independence, a big worry for
foreign investors who load up on local bonds for their high
yield.
Once again, Taiwan's dollar stood out with a 1.7%
gain, putting it on track to add close to 2% for the week.
The appreciation of the local dollar has put the central
bank in a tough spot of not wanting to appear to intervene too
heavily in the currency market for fear of being labelled a
currency manipulator by the United States and keeping the unit
competitive. Taiwan relies heavily on electronics exports.
In South Korea, the won edged 0.1% higher after
the Bank of Korea (BOK) kept its base rate steady at a historic
low of 0.5%, as expected.
The central bank governor gave few clues about the timing or
direction of future policy changes but warned he was now closely
watching investor borrowing that had partly fuelled a doubling
in the stock market since March last year.
Other currencies in the region relied on a stumbling dollar
for more muted gains after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
said on Thursday that interest rates would not rise any time
soon.
"Range-bound consolidation may be the default posture for
most dollar-Asia pairs for now, although there is still some
bias on the downside," analysts at OCBC said.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 3-year benchmark yields are up 2.7 basis
points at 5.193%, while 10-years were down 0.2 basis points at
6.207%
** Top gainers in Indonesia were Tbk PT and PT
Cahayasakti Investindo Sukses Tbk
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0359 GMT
COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %
Japan +0.03 -0.50 -0.19 4.37
China +0.09 +0.89 -0.53 2.13
India +0.00 +0.03 -0.01 4.38
Indonesia +0.21 +0.14 -0.31 7.18
Malaysia +0.05 -0.30 -0.02 0.51
Philippines +0.01 -0.03 0.18 2.05
S.Korea +0.07 -1.00 -1.54 7.93
Singapore -0.07 -0.35 0.38 5.90
Taiwan +1.74 +1.80 0.68 7.34
Thailand +0.07 -0.03 -0.67 5.27
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Raju Gopalakrishnan)
.Source
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