* Taiwan stocks hit fresh all time high * Malaysian ringgit touches 1-month high * China parliament annual meeting in focus By John Biju March 4 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies and stocks were up on Monday, as investors looked ahead to key inflation data, central bank meetings as well as an annual gathering of China's parliament this week. Optimism over AI-linked industries that has swept up global markets in recent weeks drove shares in Taiwan up 2.1% to an all-time high and South Korea 1.1% higher. In currencies, the Philippine peso and Taiwan dollar edged 0.2% higher. Market participants are looking out for any policy signals from an annual meeting of China's parliament beginning on Tuesday where it is expected to unveil moderate stimulus plans to stabilise growth. "The market could become more optimistic about China's economic recovery if the government does emphasize that it will continue to stimulate the economy," Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank said. "If the government maintains an ambitious growth target, it could show that it will do whatever it takes to achieve such goals which could be quite positive for the market at least in the near term." A string of recent data has pointed to a challenging economic outlook for Southeast Asia's largest trading partner, adding pressure for policymakers to roll out fresh stimulus measures. The country's inflation data for February due later this week is also being keenly awaited by investors after a steep fall in consumer prices in January reignited deflationary concerns. The Chinese yuan was largely flat while equities edged 0.2% higher. Elsewhere, Bank Negara Malaysia will announce its interest rate decision later this week where analysts expect the central bank to stay on hold. The Malaysian ringgit jumped as much as 0.6% to hit its highest level in a month. The currency has been recovering losses but is still down 2.9% for this year, having slumped to its lowest level since 1998 on Feb. 21. A slew of inflation data from Thailand, Philippines and South Korea are also on investor's radar this week. Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy for Asia at Mizuho Bank, wrote that headline deflation for February is likely to persist in Thailand. However, "deflation remains no cause for the BoT (Bank of Thailand) to ease with the Governor re-iterating that rate cuts are no panacea for the economy's structural woes." Thailand's headline inflation had fallen for a fourth consecutive month in January. Other potential market movers this week include U.S. manufacturing and services ISM readings and monthly payrolls figures. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Japan's Nikkei breaches 40,000 level for first time as tech stocks soar ** S.Korea factory activity extends gains but demand slows - PMI ** Thailand's employment rises in Q4 on increased tourism Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0347 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan -0.03 -6.05 <.N2 0.61 19.99 25> ChinaEC> India +0.04 +0.41 <.NS 0.00 2.98 EI> Indones -0.06 -1.97 <.JK 0.06 0.60 ia SE> Malaysi +0.36 -2.88 <.KL 0.43 6.18 a SE> Philipp +0.21 -1.06 <.PS 0.39 7.70 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo +0.03 -1.83 <.ST -0.33 -3.54 re I> Taiwan +0.23 -2.53 <.TW 2.05 7.77 II> Thailan +0.06 -4.62 <.SE -0.17 -3.58 d TI> (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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7.254 CNH | +0.03% | +0.53% | - | ||
760 USD | +2.10% | +3.68% | - | ||
2,753 PTS | +0.59% | +0.81% | - | ||
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