Stocks in Taiwan, S.Korea lead gains in Asia, currencies muted
Taiwan stocks up as much as 2%, buoyed by TSMC
Singapore upgrades growth outlook for 2024
Malaysia Oct inflation beats forecast
By Roshan Thomas
Nov 22 (Reuters) -Equity benchmarks in Taiwan and South Korea advanced more than 1% on Friday as investors cheered Nvidia's NVDA.O solid earnings, while ongoing strength in the dollar put downward pressure on major Asian emerging market currencies.
Stocks in Taipei .TWII gained as much as 2% to clock their best day since mid-October, helped by a 3.5% gain in the shares of the world's biggest contract chipmaker and Nvidia supplier, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co 2330.TW.
In South Korea, the KOSPI .KS11 added up to 1.2% on the back of chipmaker SK Hynix 000660.KS, which soared nearly 5% after announcing a share buy-back plan.
An MSCI gauge of Asian emerging market equities .MIMS00000PUS, in which TSMC holds a 12.4% weighting, was up 0.3% as of 0423 GMT.
"Overnight, market participants had reassessed initial jitters over Nvidia's sales forecast and seemingly took comfort with the broader picture that still highlights robust demand for AI-related products and solutions," Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG, said.
In Singapore, the dollar was up 0.1% while stocks .STI edged higher. The country upgraded its economic outlook for 2024 as third-quarter growth beat expectations and initial estimates.
"The Singapore dollar remains largely driven by broad movements in the U.S. dollar. So despite the strong performance in the economy, it hasn't benefited the currency," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ.
The currency is down 1.9% so far this year, having lost around 5% since October in line with a resurgence in the greenback.
In Malaysia, the ringgit MYR= and stocks .KLSE were unfazed after data showed October inflation rose at a slightly faster pace than expected.
"Inflation is fairly well contained in Malaysia. So we do not expect there to be any immediate implications for the currency or on monetary policy," Goh said.
Globally, markets remain on tenterhooks due to the risk of further escalation in Russia-Ukraine conflict after Russia lowered its threshold for using nuclear weapons and fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian city.
In India, the Nifty 50 index .NSEI was up 0.7%, led by a rebound in financials, while most Adani group stocks extended losses into a second day after billionaire Gautam Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for alleged bribery and fraud.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Malaysia's October CPI rises 1.9% y/y, slightly above forecast
** British companies to invest $8.5 billion in Indonesia's energy transition, president says
** Singapore official says economic growth could exceed 3.5% in 2024
Asia stock indexes and currencies as of 0423 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | +0.12 | -8.59 | .N225 | 0.90 | 14.65 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.06 | -2.05 | .SSEC | -0.99 | 12.17 |
India | INR=IN | +0.01 | -1.52 | .NSEI | 0.69 | 8.19 |
Indonesia | IDR= | +0.08 | -3.22 | .JKSE | 0.81 | -1.02 |
Malaysia | MYR= | -0.11 | +2.80 | .KLSE | 0.17 | 9.40 |
Philippines | PHP= | +0.20 | -5.85 | .PSI | -0.92 | 5.42 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | +0.14 | -8.00 | .KS11 | 0.96 | -5.68 |
Singapore | SGD= | +0.07 | -1.95 | .STI | 0.06 | 15.47 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | -0.02 | -5.58 | .TWII | 1.86 | 28.13 |
Thailand | THB=TH | -0.12 | -1.68 | .SETI | -0.09 | 1.65 |
Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul
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