Singapore, Thai stock rally; currencies ebb as bets of big US rate cut ease
...
Singapore stocks highest since May 2018
Thai stocks rally as new PM set to deliver policy proposal
Currencies tepid as US CPI data lowers odds of 50 bps rate cut
By Rishav Chatterjee
Sept 12 (Reuters) -Singapore equities hita more-than-six-year-high on Thursday, buoyed by rising foreign buying and economistsupgrading the city-state'sannual growth estimates, while stocks in Thailand jumped ahead of its newleader's policy proposal.
On the other hand, currency traders in emerging Asia mostly expressed caution after U.S. inflation data dampened bets of a bigger 50-basis-point Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR=, Philippine peso PHP= and Malaysian ringgit MYR= slipped around 0.1% each.
Singapore stocks .STI surged 0.4% to hit their highest since May, 2018, while shares in Bangkok .SETI added as much as 1%.
Singapore'sstock market has booked S$763 million ($585.3 million) of net institutional inflows over the last nine sessions, exchange datashowed, reversing more than half of the S$1.3 billion net outflow in the year to Aug. 29.
"Financial services have led the recent surge in net institutional inflow, followed by telecommunications, S-REITs, utilities and industrials," said Singapore Exchange (SGX) market strategist Geoff Howie.
Singapore, in August, narrowed its expectations of economic expansion this year, reflecting a resilient outlook for external demand, the same reason which economists cited for raising their growth expectations, on Wednesday.
The Singapore dollar SGD= was trading more or less unchanged on Thursday. The city-state'scentral bank, which uses the exchange rate as its main monetary policy tool, maintained an appreciating bias for the currency at its Julymeeting.
InThailand .TWII, stocksrallied on rising political stability and markets betting that new prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has a blueprint to deal with issues like an aging population and high household debts.
Shinawatra is set to deliver her government's policy proposal to parliament on Thursday.
"Focus is that Thailand's political situation has been ...stable right when we compare to July and August," said Poon Panichpibool, markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank.
"Right now everything seems to be back to normal and the new government is starting to implement their plan."
Taiwan stocks rallied nearly 3%, while those in South Korea .KS11 and Philippines .PSI added 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Thai consumer confidencedrops to 13-month low in August
** Parts of Hanoi remainflooded as landslides hit northern Vietnam
Asian currencies and markets as at 0553 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | -0.38 | -1.28 | .N225 | 3.53 | 10.78 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.01 | -0.31 | .SSEC | 0.19 | -8.34 |
India | INR=IN | +0.00 | -0.92 | .NSEI | 0.39 | 15.11 |
Indonesia | IDR= | -0.12 | -0.12 | .JKSE | 0.65 | 7.41 |
Malaysia | MYR= | -0.10 | +5.97 | .KLSE | 0.26 | 13.03 |
Philippines | PHP= | -0.03 | -1.08 | .PSI | 1.48 | 9.27 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | +0.24 | -3.76 | .KS11 | 1.76 | -3.68 |
Singapore | SGD= | -0.03 | +1.16 | .STI | 0.40 | 9.41 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | -0.10 | -4.37 | .TWII | 2.85 | 20.63 |
Thailand | THB=TH | -0.04 | +1.33 | .SETI | 0.63 | 0.60 |
($1 = 1.3034 Singapore dollars)
Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sumana Nandy
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
