* Philippine shares hit near 1-year high as growth hopes dominate
* Indonesia shares touch Sept 2019 high
* Malaysia stocks fall ahead of COVID-19 curbs announcement
By Nikhil Nainan
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Indonesia led gains for a handful of Asian stock markets on Monday, buoyed by hopes of a reflationary lift for economies across the region in the months ahead, while Malaysian shares sank ahead of the announcement of fresh coronavirus curbs.
Climbing as much as 1.8%, shares in Jakarta .JKSE hit their highest since September 2019 as the prospect of further U.S. fiscal stimulus added to hopes for a region which has so far ridden out a year of crisis better than many western peers.
Democrats victory in Senate elections last week have flipped investors globally back towards trades that bet on a bounce in prices and growth this year, traditionally plays that will benefit faster-growing and riskier emerging markets.
"The global reflation theme should be dominant in the first quarter, and in several aspects, Asia macro is entering 2021 from a position of strength," said Duncan Tan, an interest rate and FX strategist at DBS.
The promise of "trillions" in extra spending, however, has also sent U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR to 10-month highs, lifting the dollar and pressuring many emerging currencies.
Tan argued the dollar strength was more likely to be only a short-term bounce.
Indonesia's rupiah IDR= - a favourite among foreign investors looking to the country's high-yielding bonds - fell 0.7% along with South Korea's won KRW=KFTC as the dollar's bounce weighed.
Stocks in Kuala Lumpur .KLSE fell sharply as traders braced for a new round measures to curb the spread in COVID-19 cases that are expected to be more targeted. production in Malaysia also contracted unexpectedly in November, data showed, denting sentiment. Citigroup (NYSE:C) said the latest wave of infections posed the largest near-term risk and predicted the country's economy would remain soft in the first months of this year.
Singapore shares .STI also dipped 0.2% as investors booked profits after the index crossed the 3,000-point level on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 11 basis points at 6.238%
** Top losers in Malaysia include Hartalega Holdings Bhd HTHB.KL , PETRONAS Chemicals Group Bhd PCGB.KL and Malayan Banking Bhd MBBM.KL
** Fitch affirms Philippines, expects economic activity to continue to recover China's factory prices fall at slowest pace in 10 months in December stock indexes and currencies at 0632 GMT
COUNTRY
FX
FX
FX
INDEX
STOCKS STOCKS
RIC
DAILY % YTD %
DAILY % YTD % Japan
-0.17
-0.84
-
2.53 China
CNY=CFXS -0.05
+0.76
-1.49
1.26 India
INR=IN
-0.26
-0.50
0.50
3.12 Indonesia
-0.71
-0.28
1.32
6.05 Malaysia
-0.32
-0.57
-1.23
-0.86 Philippines PHP=
+0.00
-0.12
0.20
2.31 S.Korea
KRW=KFTC -0.68
-1.01
-0.12
9.57 Singapore
-0.37
-0.67
-0.20
5.05 Taiwan
TWD=TP
+1.70
+1.79
0.60
5.60 Thailand
THB=TH
-0.30
-0.56
0.71
6.76