Asian currencies dip, stocks mixed ahead of Fed chair's testimony
Indonesia stocks at highest since May 28
Indonesian rupiah falls after four straight sessions of gains
Malaysia and South Korea policy decisions on Thursday
By Ayushman Ojha
July 9 (Reuters) -Most Asian currencies edged lower on Tuesdaywhile regional stocks were mixed as global markets awaited comments from the head of the U.S. central bank to assess prospects of a rate cut in September.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will appear before Congress later in the day, with investors hoping for dovish comments that will cement their bets that it will start to lower borrowing costs in a few months, giving a fresh leg up to riskier assets and economies.
Despite a softer U.S. dollar, the Indonesian rupiah IDR= was down as much as 0.4% after four consecutive sessions of gains, while the Taiwanese dollar TWD=TP lost 0.2%.
The Thai baht THB=TH inched 0.1% lower, while the Singapore dollar SGD= was largely flat.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC and the Malaysian ringgit MYR= were largely unchanged. Interest rate decisions from both countries are due on Thursday.
Bank Negara Malaysia bank will keep its key policy rate on hold until at least 2026 as inflation looks set to pick up in the second half of this year, a Reuters poll showed.
Another poll showed that the Bank of Korea will hold rates on Thursday, but was expected to ease in the next quarter.
"Currency weakness will remain the key constraint for these central banks in thinking about cutting interest rates ahead of the Fed," said Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank.
On the other hand, the Philippine central bank has more scope to cut interest rates at its next meeting in August after annual inflation slowed in June, its Governor Eli Remolona said.
The next U.S. inflation report, due on Thursday, could further bolster rate easing expectations. Markets are now pricing in a 80% chance of a cut in September, up from 64% last week. FEDWATCH
Indonesian shares .JKSE rose as much as 0.7% to their highest level since May 28, while Singapore stocks .STI gained 0.4%, still hovering near their record high touched last week.
The rally in Singapore shares is being driven by local bank stocks hitting record highs due to investor optimism about dividend payouts and higher-for-longer interest rates in the U.S. and Singapore, MUFG's Chan added.
Shares in Kuala Lumpur .KLSE gained as much as 0.4%, while Taiwan shares .TWII and Thai stocks .SETI fell 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, bucking the trend.
Markets are also awaiting China's inflation data on Wednesday and advanced gross domestic product estimates from Singapore on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Thailand central bank head says stronger growth needed
** Japan finance minister to monitor discussions at BOJ bond market meeting
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0455 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | -0.07 | -12.35 | .N225 | 2.08 | 24.40 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.06 | -2.40 | .SSEC | -0.01 | -1.77 |
India | INR=IN | +0.00 | -0.34 | .NSEI | 0.16 | 12.10 |
Indonesia | IDR= | -0.11 | -5.37 | .JKSE | 0.50 | 0.20 |
Malaysia | MYR= | -0.04 | -2.53 | .KLSE | 0.34 | 11.13 |
Philippines | PHP= | +0.15 | -5.24 | .PSI | 0.23 | 1.46 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | -0.04 | -6.91 | .KS11 | 0.18 | 7.82 |
Singapore | SGD= | +0.01 | -2.26 | .STI | 0.40 | 5.48 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | -0.14 | -5.55 | .TWII | -0.32 | 32.74 |
Thailand | THB=TH | -0.10 | -6.20 | .SETI | -0.20 | -6.78 |
Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill
Actifs liés
Dernières actualités
Avertissement : Les entités de XM Group proposent à notre plateforme de trading en ligne un service d'exécution uniquement, autorisant une personne à consulter et/ou à utiliser le contenu disponible sur ou via le site internet, qui n'a pas pour but de modifier ou d'élargir cette situation. De tels accès et utilisation sont toujours soumis aux : (i) Conditions générales ; (ii) Avertissements sur les risques et (iii) Avertissement complet. Un tel contenu n'est par conséquent fourni que pour information générale. En particulier, sachez que les contenus de notre plateforme de trading en ligne ne sont ni une sollicitation ni une offre de participation à toute transaction sur les marchés financiers. Le trading sur les marchés financiers implique un niveau significatif de risques pour votre capital.
Tout le matériel publié dans notre Centre de trading en ligne est destiné à des fins de formation / d'information uniquement et ne contient pas – et ne doit pas être considéré comme contenant – des conseils et recommandations en matière de finance, de fiscalité des investissements ou de trading, ou un enregistrement de nos prix de trading ou une offre, une sollicitation, une transaction à propos de tout instrument financier ou bien des promotions financières non sollicitées à votre égard.
Tout contenu tiers, de même que le contenu préparé par XM, tels que les opinions, actualités, études, analyses, prix, autres informations ou liens vers des sites tiers contenus sur ce site internet sont fournis "tels quels", comme commentaires généraux sur le marché et ne constituent pas des conseils en investissement. Dans la mesure où tout contenu est considéré comme de la recherche en investissement, vous devez noter et accepter que le contenu n'a pas été conçu ni préparé conformément aux exigences légales visant à promouvoir l'indépendance de la recherche en investissement et, en tant que tel, il serait considéré comme une communication marketing selon les lois et réglementations applicables. Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez lu et compris notre Avis sur la recherche en investissement non indépendante et notre avertissement sur les risques concernant les informations susdites, qui peuvent consultés ici.