Dec 2 (Reuters) - Asian equities and currencies were mixed in lacklustre trade on Thursday, as investors assessed the potential economic fallout from the new coronavirus variant Omicron, while the South Korean won firmed on increased rate hike bets.
The United States confirmed its first case of the new variant overnight, unsettling Asian financial markets, already on edge on concerns about its potential impact on the region's nascent economic recovery. read more
Philippine shares (.PSI) rose 1.3%, rebounding from a 3.5% drop in the previous session, while stocks in Jakarta (.JKSE), Singapore (.STI) and Thailand (.SETI) traded between down 0.2% to 0.5% higher.
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The Indonesian rupiah and Malaysia's ringgit eased 0.2% each as the Thai baht dropped 0.4%.
"Market participants may tilt towards taking some risks off the markets, while awaiting clarity on the extent of Omicron spreads and measures needed to cope with the variant," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at retail trading platform IG.
Adding to worries in Asia, South Korea reported its first five cases of the Omicron variant with total COVID-19 cases in the country touching a record high despite stricter border curbs. read more
Seoul equities (.KS11), however, rose 1% as they shrugged off negative headlines and continued to bask in the robust export and factory output data reported by the Asian trade bellwether on Wednesday. read more
The won added 0.2% to 1,177.10 per dollar, up for a fourth day, after November's consumer inflation accelerated to a decade high, coming in above the central bank's 2% target for an eighth straight month. read more
"This supports the path towards further tightening (by the Bank of Korea), putting the January meeting on watch for further rate hike," Yeap added.
Meanwhile, the baht eased amid investor concerns that the new variant would derail the reopening plans of tourism-dependant Thailand. It has fallen in nine of the last 10 days.
"The Bank of Thailand remains cautious on (the) longer-term outlook, especially because of potential permanent damages to the tourism sector,...It has priced in 6 million tourist arrivals in 2022 – very low versus 40 million in 2019," Citi analysts said in a note.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 7.7 basis points at 6.37%
** Singapore's 10-year benchmark yield is down 6.4 basis points at 1.67%
** Eyes were also on the decision by oil producing club OPEC and its allies on how they will manage supply amid growing concern that the spread of Omicron could weigh on global economy and fuel demand
($1 = 7.7930 Hong Kong dollars)
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Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Asian stocks, FX on edge over Omicron fears; S. Korean won gains - Reuters
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