Asian currencies subdued on strong dollar; Thai stocks at 1-yr high
.
Thai stocks at highest level since September 2023
Singapore stocks advance more than 1%
Malaysian ringgit falls 0.4% among tepid currencies
TSMC posts 54% rise in Q3 profit
By Adwitiya Srivastava and Himanshi Akhand
Oct 17 (Reuters) -Asian currencies were subdued onThursday as the dollar firmed on improving prospectsof a Donald Trump presidency, while most regionalstocks gained, with Thai equities staying ata one-year high a day after a surprise rate cut by its centralbank.
The Malaysian ringgit MYR=, the region's best performing currency this year, fell 0.4% and the South Korean won KRW=KFTC was down 0.3%.
The U.S. dollar USD= hovered near an 11-week high, supported by recent upbeatdata that led traders to price in a smaller rate cut. An improvement inTrump's fortunes in the presidentialelection next month also buoyed the greenback. FRX/
Meanwhile, theBank of Thailand (BOT) delivered a surprise 25-basis-point ratereduction on Wednesday, but indicated the cut was not the start of an easing cycle.
Equities in Bangkok .SETI rose 0.7%, staying at a more thanone-year high, while the baht THB=TH, one of the few regional currencies with year-to-date gains so far, inched 0.1% lower.
"While the ASEAN-6 central banks have a dovish tendency, they are not on a pre-determined rate cut path. The quantum and timing are likely to be dictated by financial market volatility, domestic growth-inflation mix and U.S. Fed's moves," DBS analysts said in a note.
The Philippine central bank also delivered a 25-basis-point rate cut, while Bank Indonesia kept rates unchanged, both as expected.
The depreciation of the rupiah has previously forced the central bank to pause and await better opportunities to ease policy, Barclays analysts said.
"Historically, bouts of IDR depreciation – as well as poor trade or current account balance data prints – have resulted in a start-stop pattern in previous BI rate-cutting cycles," they said.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= ticked 0.1% higherand stocks .JKSE rose 1%.
Other regional equities were also higher, with Singapore stocks .STI rising as much as 1.1%, scalingtheir highest level in over three weeks.
Taiwanese stocks .TWII closed up 0.2%. Chip giant TSMC 2330.TW fell almost 1% in the session. It reported a forecast-beating 54% jump in third-quarter profit.
Elsewhere, China promised to improve builders' access to funding for finishing thousands of projects, and the central bank's deputy governor said cuts to down payments had already improved confidence and sales.
Chinese equities .SSEC fell 0.7%, while the yuan CNY=CFXS was largely flat.
Investors are now awaiting China's third-quarter GDP data due on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesia's Prabowo gets support from biggest party, but no coalition deal yet
** Japan's exports fall for first time in 10 months on China, US slowdown
Asian stocks and currencies as at 0635 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | +0.00 | -5.72 | .N225 | -0.69 | 16.89 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.03 | -0.34 | .SSEC | -0.67 | 6.94 |
India | INR=IN | -0.04 | -0.98 | .NSEI | -0.76 | 14.03 |
Indonesia | IDR= | +0.06 | -0.65 | .JKSE | 0.97 | 6.19 |
Malaysia | MYR= | -0.37 | +6.60 | .KLSE | 0.30 | 12.57 |
Philippines | PHP= | +0.00 | -4.07 | .PSI | 0.33 | 15.68 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | -0.30 | -5.89 | .KS11 | -0.04 | -1.73 |
Singapore | SGD= | +0.01 | +0.46 | .STI | 1.12 | 12.06 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | +0.05 | -4.43 | .TWII | 0.19 | 28.57 |
Thailand | THB=TH | -0.06 | +2.88 | .SETI | 0.69 | 5.61 |
Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Sonia Cheema
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.
