* Indonesian c.bank keeps rates unchanged at 3.5%
* Emerging Asian currencies strengthen on weaker dollar
* Indian shares recover as vaccination drive expands
By Harish Sridharan
April 20 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah held firm on Tuesday after the central bank kept interest rates at a record low, as widely expected, resisting any further easing to foster currency stability.
The rupiah IDR=ID strengthened 0.4% to 14,485 per dollar after Bank Indonesia's (BI) decision to stand pat on rates. Stocks in Jakarta recovered slightly, trimming losses to trade 0.3% lower.
The currency has already depreciated more than 3% against the dollar this year, leaving policymakers wary about delivering further rates cuts lest it creates rupiah instability and forces out foreign funds. decision itself was not a surprise, given the pressure on the rupiah in recent weeks," said Mitul Kotecha, chief EM Asia & Europe strategist at TD Securities.
"The fact that there have been signs of some improvement in activity reduced some of the pressure to ease further," he added.
BI reaffirmed its commitment to stabilise the rupiah and said the current rate of exchange and government bond yields were attractive, ensuring that capital inflows would come and further support the currency. at Mizuho earlier said that reports President Joko Widodo is backing a bill to expand BI's mandate is seen by many as diluting the central bank's independence, which in turn is denting confidence in rupiah-denominated assets.
Other emerging Asian currencies strengthened across the board, reflecting a broadly weaker U.S dollar. South Korea's won KRW=KFTC and the Singapore dollar SGD= added 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.
The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP held 0.4% firmer ahead of March export data, which analysts expect will rise for a 13th consecutive month. in the Philippines .PSI , Malaysia .KLSE and Taiwan .TWII gained, while equities in Singapore .STI fell and delivered their worst session in nearly three weeks.
Indian shares .NSEI edged higher after a sharp drop in the previous session, as the country ramped up vaccinations to counter a surge in COVID-19 cases that prompted restrictions in major cities and rattled investors. Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 4.7 basis points at 6.429%
** In the Philippines, top index gainer was Universal Robina Corp URC.PS , up 5.34%
** Singapore Airlines Ltd SIAL.SI down -2.68% and top loser on the Singapore STI .STI
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0613 GMT
COUNTRY
FX RIC
FX DAILY % FX YTD %
INDEX STOCKS STOCK
DAILY S YTD
%
% Japan
-0.06
-4.60 .N225 -1.97 6.03 China
CNY=CFXS
+0.25
+0.52 .SSEC
0.30 0.43 India
INR=IN
+0.26
-2.17 .NSEI
0.22 2.93 Indonesia
+0.34
-3.14 .JKSE
-0.84 0.38 Malaysia
+0.17
-2.31 .KLSE
0.24 -1.42 Philippines
+0.16
-0.57 .PSI
0.63 -8.95 S.Korea
KRW=KFTC
+0.49
-2.29 .KS11
0.58 11.97 Singapore
+0.32
-0.43 .STI
-0.42 12.39 Taiwan
TWD=TP
+0.38
+1.37 .TWII
0.35 17.59 Thailand
THB=TH
+0.00
-3.94 .SETI
0.10 8.77