EMERGING MARKETS-Vaccine hopes, central bank buoy Indonesia shares; Chinese worries weigh

* Thailand markets closed for a holiday * Fitch downgrades Malaysia's credit rating; ringgit weaker * China Nov. exports rise sharply * China stocks drop on Sino-U.S. tensions By Anushka Trivedi Dec 7 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares soared 2% to a near 10-month high on Monday as reports of the arrival of the first shipment of China's coronavirus vaccine and central bank promises of low interest rates countered regional concerns over U.S.-China tensions. A strong finish to last week in Europe and the United States, thanks to growing expectations of more government stimulus soon for coronavirus-hit economies kept most Asian stock markets in positive territory. But the gains were muted, with Chinese shares and the yuan both down sharply on concerns about ties with Washington, with Reuters reporting over the weekend that the Trump administration was ready to sanction at least a dozen Chinese officials. The Jakarta index climbed after local media reported https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/12/05/indonesia-greenlights-adoption-of-major-covid-19-vaccines.html?src=mostviewed&pg= over the weekend that the government would allow coronavirus vaccine usage, and President Joko Widodo said the country had received its first shipment of the vaccine. Bank Indonesia said it would keep interest rates low and predicted policy normalisation was still some way off. "Availability of vaccine is definitely a major sentiment booster with the hope that economic activity would recover soon," said Kunal Kundu, an economist with Societe Generale, while warning Indonesia's lack of infrastructure and large population will be major challenges. Southeast Asia's largest economy has been hit hard by the pandemic as it spiralled into its first recession in 20 years in the third quarter and coronavirus cases have continued to rapidly climb in recent weeks. Chinese shares dropped 0.8% and the yuan slipped 0.2% to pull back from a two-and-a-half-year high hit last week, even as the world's second biggest economy reported a surge in November exports. Sources told Reuters on Friday that policymakers were comfortable with the yuan's recent strength as a rebound in the Chinese economy accelerates and the central bank gives the market greater leeway in setting the currency's value. Most other emerging Asian currencies eased against a firmer greenback, with only the Taiwanese dollar a stand out, with a 1% gain. The ringgit fell 0.3% after Fitch downgraded Malaysia's credit rating on expectations of increased fiscal pressure, debt and political uncertainty. Financial markets in Thailand were shut due to a holiday. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 3.6 basis points at 6.234% ** Top gainers on the Jakarta stock index: Island Concepts Indonesia Tbk PT up 34.7% & Pool Advista Finance Tbk PT up 34.7% ** Top losers on the Singapore STI include: UOL Group Ltd down 2% and City Developments Ltd down 1.7% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0657 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan +0.02 +4.31 -0.76 12.22 China -0.16 +6.46 -0.85 11.97 India +0.04 -3.23 0.53 9.53 Indonesia -0.11 -1.56 1.91 -6.00 Malaysia -0.32 +0.44 0.18 2.27 Philippines -0.02 +5.28 0.97 -7.83 S.Korea +0.00 +6.87 0.51 24.93 Singapore -0.01 +0.67 0.11 -11.79 Taiwan +0.96 +6.57 0.88 18.83 (Reporting by Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Patrick Graham and Arun Koyyur)