Asian currencies take a breather after volatile week, ringgit steady
Corrects second bullet and paragraph 11 to say Indonesian equities are down for the third day, not fourth day
Ringgit steady after Q3 GDP meets estimates
Stocks mixed: Indonesian equities down for third day
Rupiah hovers near three-month low
By Sneha Kumar
Nov 15 (Reuters) -Asian currencies found some support on Friday after a volatile past few sessions, with the Singapore dollar and Thai baht creeping higher, while Malaysia's ringgit held its ground despite a slowdown in growth in the third quarter.
Stocks in the region were a mixed bag with shares in Indonesia .JKSE losing 1.3% to fall to their lowest since early August, while those in the Philippines .PSI advanced 1.6% breaking a seven-day losing streak.
Emerging market assets have been under pressure since early last week on the view that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could further stoke inflation which could mean fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts.
"Optimism that was initially sparked by Fed easing bets around the middle of the year have largely evaporated," DBS analysts said.
"Against this challenging backdrop, scope for Asia central bank easing has become more restrained while investor sentiment on local currency bonds/rates have also become more muted."
Malaysian ringgit MYR= and Thai baht THB=TH have lost 3% and 3.8%, respectively, since Nov. 5 as their open, trade-reliant economies, particularly with China, make them vulnerable to any tariff-related headwinds.
On the day, the ringgit was steady while stocks in Kuala Lumpur .KLSE inched lower after third-quarter economic growth came in line with expectations but slowed from an 18-month high in the previous quarter.
The central bank maintained its growth outlook for this year between 4.8% and 5.3%, and noted the U.S. elections results could usher in near-term volatility but that it was too early to speak on the impact.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC, highly sensitive to the yuan and trade relations with the United States, has also lost more than 1% since the outcome of the U.S. elections became clear. It was up 0.1% on the day.
The Thai baht THB=TH added 0.4% on Friday while shares in Bangkok .SETI inched lower after a Reuters poll showed Southeast Asia's second-largest economy would log its fastest growth in more than a year in the September quarter.
The rupiah IDR= hovered near its three-month low for a second consecutive day, slipping as much as 0.6% to 15,945 per dollar. The benchmark index in Jakarta .JKSE declined for the third straight session, weighed by mining and energy stocks.
Overnight, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was not in a hurry to cut interest rates, indicating borrowing costs may remain higher for longer.
The dollar =USD hovered near its one-year high against a basket of currencies, eyeing a weekly gain of 1.8% - its best performance since September, if the trend holds.
"In the longer run expect the USD to fade although near-term risks are to the upside," Maybank analysts said.
In Sri Lanka, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's coalition, the National People's Power (NPP), won a majority in a snap general election. Markets in Sri Lanka were closed on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesia's 10-year benchmark yield ID10YT=RR slips to 6.905%
** Indonesia Oct trade surplus less than expected
** Malaysia liberalising some foreign exchange policy to support investments, cbank says
** Malaysia dropped off U.S. Treasury's currency manipulation "monitoring list"
Asia stock indexes and currencies as of 0500 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | -0.06 | -9.77 | .N225 | 0.79 | 16.10 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.08 | -1.88 | .SSEC | -0.35 | 13.21 |
India | INR=IN | +0.00 | -1.41 | .NSEI | -0.11 | 8.29 |
Indonesia | IDR= | -0.22 | -3.08 | .JKSE | -1.08 | -1.87 |
Malaysia | MYR= | +0.04 | +2.55 | .KLSE | -0.29 | 9.72 |
Philippines | PHP= | -0.02 | -5.88 | .PSI | 1.61 | 3.30 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | +0.16 | -8.01 | .KS11 | 0.40 | -8.54 |
Singapore | SGD= | +0.15 | -1.84 | .STI | 0.16 | 15.55 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | -0.02 | -5.58 | .TWII | 0.39 | 27.18 |
Thailand | THB=TH | +0.16 | -2.20 | .SETI | -0.17 | 2.25 |
Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Reportingby Sneha Kumar and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates
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.
