Thai stocks extend gains after surprise rate cut; Asian currencies tepid
.
Thai stocks at highest level since Sept 2023
Singapore stocks advance more than 1%
Malaysian ringgit falls 0.4% among tepid currencies
By Adwitiya Srivastava, Himanshi Akhand
Oct 17 (Reuters) -Asian currencies were subdued on Thursday, as the dollar firmed on the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency, while regional stocks were broadly higher with those in Thailand at a one-year high after a surprise rate cut by the central bank.
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 dollar USD= was hovering near an 11-week high, drawing support from a run of upbeat data which has caused traders to scale back expectations of Fed rate cuts, and also from the possibility of a victory by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at next month's election. FRX/
In Asia, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) surprised investors on Wednesday by lowering interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time since May 2020, but indicated the cut was not the start of an easing cycle.
Equities in Bangkok .SETI extended gains to rise 0.7% and stay at their highest level in more than one-year, while the baht THB=TH, one of the few regional currencies with year-to-date gains so far, dipped 0.2%.
"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 for 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 added.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= was last down 0.2%, and stocks .JKSE rose 0.7%.
Other regional equities were also higher, with Singapore stocks .STI rising as much as 1.1% to reach their highest level in over three weeks, while those in Malaysia .KLSE rose 0.4%.
Elsewhere, China's housing minister 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.
The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS and equities .SSEC were both largely flat.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Results at chipmaking giant TSMC 2330.TW due later Thursday
** China will not renounce use of force over Taiwan; Xi visits frontline island
** Japan's exports fall for first time in 10 months on China, US slowdown
Asian stocks and currencies at 0400 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | +0.03 | -5.69 | .N225 | -0.46 | 16.54 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.05 | -0.36 | .SSEC | 0.09 | 7.77 |
India | INR=IN | -0.02 | -0.96 | .NSEI | -0.01 | 14.90 |
Indonesia | IDR= | -0.16 | -0.87 | .JKSE | 0.68 | 5.88 |
Malaysia | MYR= | -0.35 | +6.62 | .KLSE | 0.41 | 12.69 |
Philippines | PHP= | +0.10 | -3.97 | .PSI | 0.30 | 15.65 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | -0.34 | -5.92 | .KS11 | -0.04 | -1.73 |
Singapore | SGD= | -0.01 | +0.44 | .STI | 0.89 | 11.80 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | -0.07 | -4.55 | .TWII | 0.45 | 28.91 |
Thailand | THB=TH | -0.17 | +2.77 | .SETI | 0.67 | 5.59 |
Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Himanshi Akhand 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.
