.
Asian currencies largely up
Taiwan stocks hit three-week high, Malaysia leads gains
Thai stocks flat after Monday losses, economy outlook cut
By Roushni Nair
Jan 23 (Reuters) –Most Asian shares rose on Tuesday, with those in Taiwan notching a three-week high, while weakness in the U.S. dollar cleared the path for regional currencies to regain some lost footing from earlier in the day.
Stocks in Taipei .TWII advanced as much as 0.4% to their highest level since Jan. 2, while those in Kuala Lumpur .KLSE rose 0.6% to a 1-week high. Benchmarks in Seoul .KS11 and Manila .PSI were up 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, by 0727 GMT.
Currencies in the region recovered some earlier losses after the dollar index =USD slipped 0.3% at $103.00.
The dollar was pressured the yen JPY=, which rose as much as 0.7% following Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s comments, while Tokyo stocks .N225 climbed to a 34-year peak after the central bank maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy.
Shares in Thailand .SETI were trading flat after losing nearly 1% in the previous session. The benchmark fell 1% last week, marking its worst week in three.
Thailand’s economy is expected to grow 2.8% this year, a sharp downgrade from a previous projection of 3.2%, the finance ministry said.
Other currencies in the region struggled for direction, with the Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS and the South Korean won KRW=KFTC making the most ground, rising 0.3% and 0.4%.
The yuan was helped by a Bloomberg report that Chinese policymakers are seeking to mobilise about 2 trillion yuan ($278.91 billion) as part of a stabilisation fund to buy shares.
The Singapore dollar SGD= climbed 0.2%, while the Indonesian rupiah IDR= gave up early gains to trade flat.
“We recommend fading the sell-off in KRW but that aside, the broader Asia FX spot, volume and skew dynamics are more consistent with fundamentals than they first appear,” said Adarsh Sinha, an analyst at BofA Securities in a note.
Meanwhile, equities in China hovered near a five-year low despite the Bloomberg report. Hong Kong shares, however, rallied after the country’s cabinet pledged to take more effective measures to stabilise market confidence.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** South Korea’s economy likely grew at slightly slower pace in Q4 – Poll
** Singapore Dec core inflation at 3.3% y/y
** China weighs stock market rescue package backed by $278 bln – Bloomberg News
|
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0741 GMT |
||||||
|
COUNTRY |
FX RIC |
FX DAILY % |
FX YTD % |
INDEX |
STOCKS DAILY % |
STOCKS YTD % |
|
Japan |
JPY= |
+0.27 |
-4.49 |
.N225 |
0.08 |
9.70 |
|
China |
CNY=CFXS |
+0.27 |
-1.03 |
.SSEC |
0.53 |
-6.86 |
|
India |
INR=IN |
-0.03 |
+0.14 |
.NSEI |
-0.89 |
-1.61 |
|
Indonesia |
IDR= |
-0.04 |
-1.55 |
.JKSE |
-0.45 |
-0.79 |
|
Malaysia |
MYR= |
-0.06 |
-2.90 |
.KLSE |
0.30 |
2.82 |
|
Philippines |
PHP= |
+0.17 |
-1.37 |
.PSI |
0.58 |
2.66 |
|
S.Korea |
KRW=KFTC |
+0.41 |
-3.40 |
.KS11 |
0.58 |
-6.65 |
|
Singapore |
SGD= |
+0.25 |
-1.46 |
.STI |
-0.30 |
-3.10 |
|
Taiwan |
TWD=TP |
+0.07 |
-1.90 |
.TWII |
0.33 |
-0.31 |
|
Thailand |
THB=TH |
+0.01 |
-3.98 |
.SETI |
-0.32 |
-3.56 |
($1 = 7.1708 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Varun H K
