* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Asian currencies strengthen on weaker U.S dollar
* Indian shares climb after ICICI Bank posts robust results
* Investors eye Fed meeting later this week
By Harish Sridharan
April 26 (Reuters) - Asian currencies held firm on Monday, as bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will retain an accommodative policy stance at its meeting later this week weighed on the dollar, while Indian shares were boosted by robust results from a major lender.
The greenback slipped to a two-month low amid speculation that U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will shun talk of tapering bond purchases at a policy meeting on Wednesday. USD/
"The Fed has been very clear that they are going to be patient and will want to keep policy accommodative for a long time. If that message comes through again... that should continue to pressure the dollar lower," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ Banking Group (Singapore).
"With strong growth in the United States, some of that will definitely spill over... especially through increased export demand. That should be positive for export-oriented currencies like South Korean won, Taiwan dollar and Singapore dollar," he added.
South Korean won KRW=KFTC and Taiwan dollar TWD=TP were among the top performing currencies in the region, strengthening 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Indian shares .NSEI rose 1.1%, boosted by a 6.2% jump in shares of private-sector lender ICICI Bank ICBK.NS , which reported a more than three-fold surge in March-quarter profit. results helped offset an otherwise weak sentiment in the region, as the country set a global record for a rise in daily COVID-19 cases for a fifth-straight day, leading to several states imposing strict curbs. remains to be seen if this second wave of COVID-19 cases subsides without a national level lockdown," analysts at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) wrote, forecasting that a month of nationwide lockdown was likely to cost the nation 100-200 basis points of GDP.
Singapore's shares .STI gained 0.3%, after the city- state's manufacturing output for March increased 7.6% from last year. manufacturing outperformance is likely to sustain in the double-digit growth handle, partly due to base effects but also due to the green shoots recovery in the global economy, particularly for the major economies of the U.S. and China," analysts at OCBC wrote in a note.
Shares in South Korea .KS11 marked its best session in nearly two weeks and Taiwan .TWII closed at yet another record high.
Thai stocks .SETI lagged peers, after the country's central bank warned it was likely to slash its economic growth outlook for this year and next due to a rapidly spreading third wave of COVID-19 infections. Top gainer on the Taiwan SE Weighted Index .TWII was Space Shuttle Hi-Tech Co Ltd 2440.TW , up 10.0%
** Top gainer on the Korea SE Kospi Index .KS11 was PharmGen Science Inc 003580.KS , up 29.9%
** The biggest gainers in the NSE index .NSEI were ICICI Bank Ltd ICBK.NS and Axis Bank (NS:AXBK) AXBK.NZ , up 4.86% and 3.3%, respectively
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0741 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC
FX
FX INDE STOCKS STOCK
DAILY YTD %
X DAILY S YTD
%
%
% Japan
+0.14 -4.19 <.N2
0.36 6.13
25>
China
S> EC> India INR=IN +0.34 -2.26 <.NS 1.14 3.74 EI> Indones IDR= +0.22 -3.09 <.JK -0.74 -0.11 ia SE> Malaysi MYR= +0.12 -2.00 <.KL 0.77 -0.40 a SE> Philipp PHP= -0.33 -0.79 <.PS 0.18 -10.5 ines I> 1 S.Korea 0.99 11.97 C> 11> Singapo SGD= +0.08 -0.34 <.ST 0.32 12.68 re I> Taiwan TWD=TP +0.58 +1.91 <.TW 1.57 19.28 II> Thailan THB=TH -0.10 -4.74 <.SE -0.06 7.13 d TI>