EMERGING MARKETS-Asian stocks, currencies steady after rough week – Reuters

    * Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
    * Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks tmsnrt.rs/3lKhL5I
    * S. Korea stocks on course for worst week since March
    * MYR flat as Malaysia on FTSE Russell bond index watchlist

    By Anushka Trivedi
    Sept 25 (Reuters) - Most Asian emerging stocks and
currencies eked out modest gains on Friday, steadying as signs
overnight of moves to deliver more U.S. fiscal stimulus calmed
some of the worst bouts of selling on global stock markets in
months.
    Wall Street had closed higher on signs that Democrats in the
House of Representatives were working on a $2.2 trillion
coronavirus stimulus package that could be voted on next week.

    "Today is largely consolidative after consecutive days of
decline," said Christopher Wong, senior FX strategist at Maybank
in Singapore.
    India and Indonesia were the best performers with gains of
more than 1% in morning trade. Jakarta's main index,
weighed down a new wave of coronavirus infections and concerns
over moves to change its central bank law, had shed more than 4%
this week.
    Other Asian equity markets made more modest gains, with the
Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea adding
between 0.4% to 0.8%, and were still set to register heavy
losses for the week.
    South Korea's KOSPI was down 5.2% for the week, its worst
performance since March.
    Concerns about a second round of COVID-19 infections that is
spreading across Europe and weak economic indicators have made
markets bearish this week. 
    "The increasingly worrying 'second round' COVID risks, which
have showed up in Services PMIs in Europe, point to a sputtering
and uneven recovery without appropriate and timely policy
intervention," Mizuho Bank's Riki Ogawa said.
    In China, a strong influence over many of the region's
markets, the yuan rose 0.2% after news that China's
government bonds would be included in FTSE Russell's flagship
World Government Bond Index (WGBI).
    Once included, China's market yield will be the second
highest in the FTSE WGBI index based on current prices, bringing
in inflows of about US$140 billion, Goldman Sachs analysts said.
    In the same announcement by FTSE Russell, Malaysian bonds
remained on a waiting list for possible removal, holding back
the Malaysian ringgit, which has also suffered from a
fresh political turbulence in Kuala Lumpur this week. 
    
    HIGHLIGHTS
        
    ** Malaysia's 3-year benchmark yield is up 1.6 basis points
at 1.969%
    ** Top gainers on the Jakarta stock index include
Indofarma Tbk PT up 24.89% and Pyridam Farma Tbk PT
 up ​24.84% 
    ** Top gainers on the Singapore STI include Mapletree
Logistics Trust up 1.49% and Comfortdelgro Corporation
Ltd up 1.41% 
    
    
 Asia stock indexes and currencies                                        
 at  0424 GMT                                                      
 COUNTRY      FX RIC      FX DAILY %  FX YTD %    INDEX    STOCKS   STOCKS
                                                          DAILY %    YTD %
 Japan                         -0.03     +3.02               0.43    -1.98
 China                         +0.15     +2.14              -0.24     5.42
 India                         +0.00     -3.40               1.22   -10.12
 Indonesia                     -0.03     -6.53               1.41   -22.04
 Malaysia                      +0.02     -1.82               0.34    -5.22
 Philippines                   +0.10     +4.56               0.47   -24.85
 S.Korea                       +0.17     -1.22               0.69     4.13
 Singapore                     +0.01     -2.23               0.46   -23.61
 Taiwan                        +0.39     +3.09              -0.29     1.93
 Thailand                      +0.19     -5.14              -0.31   -21.28
 
 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru, Editing by Patrick
Graham & Simon Cameron-Moore)