Taiwan shares plunge as trading resumes; tech rout continues
Taiwan shares fall over 4%; TMSC down 6.5%
Singapore's monetary policy settings unchanged
Most regional equities set for weekly loss
S. Korean and Indonesian inflation data awaited
By Shivangi Lahiri
July 26 (Reuters) -Taiwan stocks fell more than 4% on Friday as investors there joined a global tech rout after a typhoon shut markets for two days, while other regional equities stabilised as a rough week winds down.
TSMC 2330.TW, the world's largest contract chipmaker and major Apple AAPL.O supplier, slumped as much as 6.5% to mark its worst session since mid-April, dragging Taiwan's benchmark .TWII as much as 4.3% lower. The benchmark was last trading down 3.3% as at 0356 GMT.
It was set to end the week 3.3% in red, down for a second week.
MSCI's gauge of Asian emerging market equities .MIMS00000PUS, was down 0.7% to its lowest level since early June. TSMC makes up just over 12% of the index. A broader index of Asian shares .MIAP00000PUS extended its 1.9% drop from the previous day.
While the global tech rout stems from worries over escalation of Sino-U.S. trade tensions, the implication of a Donald Trump presidency in the U.S. and valuation concerns, some analysts say the decline is also a course correction after the rally through to June when markets touched record highs.
"Some technology valuations are a bit stretched and we are seeing some sort of correction on that front," Michael Wan, senior currency analyst at MUFG said.
"Taiwan and South Korea should benefit from a fundamental perspective from greater improvement in electronic exports, notwithstanding the stretched equity valuations that we see right now," he added.
Markets are now eyeing personal consumption expenditure data from the U.S. later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation.
The Fed meets next week and CME's FedWatch tool now shows a 100% chance it will begin easing interest rates in September.
Elsewhere, shares in Jakarta .JKSE rose 0.6% higher, while those in Manila .PSI advanced 0.6% after resuming trade following a two-day break because of the typhoon. South Korean shares .KS11 recovered from their six-week low, advancing 0.8%.
In Singapore, stocks .STI and the dollar SGD= were largely unchanged after the monetary authority kept its policy settings unchanged as it expects the economy to strengthen over the rest of 2024.
Most regional equities were headed for weekly losses, with South Korean shares set for their third week in red.
Among currencies, the South Korean won KRW=KFTC and the Indonesian rupiah IDR= slipped around 0.3% each, while the Philippine peso PHP= rose by that much.
Inflation data for Indonesia and South Korea is due next week.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesia central bank has intervened in FX market
** Japan urges G20 vigilance against excessive FX fluctuations
** POLL-Investors turn long on Singapore dollar after 7 months; bearish bets on Asian FX ease
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0356 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | +0.08 | -8.29 | .N225 | 0.16 | 13.32 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.04 | -2.07 | .SSEC | -0.19 | -3.15 |
India | INR=IN | -0.02 | -0.61 | .NSEI | 0.07 | 12.39 |
Indonesia | IDR= | -0.28 | -5.49 | .JKSE | 0.44 | -0.01 |
Malaysia | MYR= | 0.00 | -1.50 | .KLSE | -0.13 | 10.89 |
Philippines | PHP= | +0.29 | -5.17 | .PSI | 0.63 | 4.06 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | -0.27 | -7.12 | .KS11 | 0.79 | 2.89 |
Singapore | SGD= | +0.04 | -1.76 | .STI | -0.08 | 5.78 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | +0.04 | -6.37 | .TWII | -3.35 | 23.29 |
Thailand | THB=TH | +0.19 | -5.46 | .SETI | 0.48 | -8.34 |
Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
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