* South Korean won falls the most * Chinese yuan is the only gainer * Regional equity markets mixed By Rishav Chatterjee July 21 (Reuters) - Most Asian emerging market currencies dropped against a firm dollar on Friday after economic data from the United States signalled labour market strength, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer. The Thai baht snapped a four-day winning streak, down 0.2% from a two month-high it touched on Thursday. Thailand has yet to resolve a political deadlock about its premiership but hopes that it can be worked out and improved economic fundamentals have meant the baht is set to appreciate by just over 1% this week. That would mark its third straight week of gains. The currency has reversed course in just three weeks, trading 1% higher so far this year. Meanwhile, data overnight showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest level in two months. UOB analysts said the consensus was that Federal Reserve was almost certain to hike rates by another 25 basis points next week. "The question is how much further the Fed will signal rates to increase," they said. The South Korean won, which has climbed around 4% over the month, led the losses for the day, sliding 0.9%. The country's economic growth likely slowed a bit last quarter as rising interest rates hurt private consumption, a Reuters poll found. The yuan was the sole gainer among Asian emerging market curries, appreciating 0.1%. For the week, it is set to lose 0.4%, hurt by feeble economic growth for the world's second largest economy. Some investors expect China to announce more support measures at the end of the month. "China's new leadership has shown greater composure and strategic focus in responding to recent easing economic growth," said economists at Standard Chartered. "New policies have been oriented towards improving long-term growth prospects," they added. Singapore's dollar was trading mostly unchanged due to investor caution ahead of inflation data due next week. "Singapore's CPI data release on 24 July could weigh on the local currency, like the lower-than-expected U.K. inflation on the sterling this week," said Philip Wee, senior FX strategist at DBS Group. Equities in the region were mixed. Benchmark indexes in the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia added between 0.3% and 0.6%. In Indonesia, the benchmark lost 0.1% while in Taiwan it fell 0.8% HIGHLIGHTS: ** Thailand to hold vote on PM next week as Pita's hopes fade ** Philippines closely monitors threat of invasion of Taiwan - defence chief ** TECHNICALS-Palm oil may end rally in 4,103-4,122 ringgit zone Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0330 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan -0.09 -6.48 <.N2 -0.22 24.23 25> ChinaEC> India -0.03 +0.87 <.NS 0.00 10.35 EI> Indones -0.25 +3.61 <.JK -0.14 0.06 ia SE> Malaysi -0.22 -3.30 <.KL 0.25 -5.70 a SE> Philipp -0.27 +1.81 <.PS 0.64 1.37 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo +0.03 +1.02 <.ST 0.06 0.77 re I> Taiwan -0.41 -1.60 <.TW -0.75 20.50 II> Thailan -0.20 +0.95 <.SE 0.06 -8.78 d TI> (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
MSCI TAIWAN (STRD)
Index
End-of-day quote MSCI 10:00:00 2024-04-26 am EDT | 5-day change | 1st Jan Change | ||
690.6 USD | +1.81% | +3.39% | +8.11% |
Apr. 28 | Week Ahead for FX, Bonds : Focus on Fed Decision, U.S. Jobs Data and Weak Japanese Yen | DJ |
Apr. 27 | Taiwan reports Chinese military activity after Blinken leaves Beijing | RE |
Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
|
Change
|
5d. change
|
Capi.
| ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2,686 PTS | +0.86% | +2.29% | - | ||
1,381 KRW | +0.33% | +0.48% | - | ||
1,012 KRW | +0.49% | +1.26% | - | ||
906.5 KRW | +0.79% | +2.76% | - | ||
741 USD | +0.07% | -2.25% | - | ||
690.6 USD | +1.81% | +3.39% | - | ||
681.4 GBX | -0.21% | +2.19% | 21.73B | ||
199.5 JPY | +0.83% | +4.27% | - | ||
87.48 USD | -0.03% | +0.67% | - | ||
82.99 USD | -0.05% | +1.34% | - | ||
39.64 THB | +0.20% | +0.95% | - | ||
37.01 THB | +0.11% | +0.41% | - | ||
34.64 SGD | +0.64% | +1.67% | 71.84B | ||
24.3 PTS | +0.46% | +2.57% | - | ||
16.56 KRW | +0.33% | +0.31% | - | ||
9.076 CNY | +0.29% | +1.36% | - | ||
7.763 CNY | +0.20% | +0.61% | - | ||
7.26 CNH | -0.08% | +0.14% | - | ||
7.246 CNY | 0.00% | +0.08% | - | ||
6.74 USD | +1.20% | +1.66% | 282M | ||
5.311 CNY | +0.20% | +0.90% | - | ||
4.756 CNY | +0.42% | +2.30% | - | ||
2.1 NZD | -0.13% | +0.13% | - | ||
1.907 AUD | -0.24% | -0.96% | - | ||
1.709 CAD | +0.05% | +0.52% | - | ||
1.252 USD | +0.10% | +1.19% | - | ||
1.143 CHF | +0.02% | +1.38% | - | ||
1.072 USD | +0.08% | +0.54% | - | ||
0.8557 GBX | -0.02% | -0.63% | - | ||
0.7325 USD | +0.04% | +0.65% | - | ||
0.6564 USD | +0.34% | +2.16% | - | ||
0.5961 USD | +0.22% | +1.05% | - | ||
0.0869 CNY | +0.03% | 0.00% | - | ||
0.012 USD | +0.03% | 0.00% | - | ||
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