* Philippine shares at 1-year high * China stocks rise 1% * RBI keeps interest rates unchanged By John Biju Feb 8 (Reuters) - Most Asian equities gained on Thursday, with prospects of support measures from Chinese authorities boosting sentiment, even as data showed persistent deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy. Equities in China climbed 1.0%, recovering for a third straight session after touching a five-year low on Monday. Other regional equities also advanced, with shares in Philippines rising as much as 1.4%, hitting their highest level in a year. Stocks in South Korea rose up to 0.8% to a more than one-month high. China replaced the head of its securities regulator on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency said, in the latest of a slew of measures by authorities to stabilise the market ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday. "Chinese policy inclination is clearly to bolster markets into holidays," said Wei Liang Chang, FX and credit macro strategist at DBS Bank. "These measures underpin a dramatic shift towards anchoring investor sentiment, although continued fiscal support remains crucial to reinforce China's recovery." The country's economy is still reeling under persistent deflationary pressures with China's consumer prices suffering their steepest fall in more than 14 years in January, ramping up pressure on policymakers to do more to revive the economy. Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) kept its key interest rate unchanged for a second straight meeting on Wednesday in a 5-2 vote, resisting government pressure to reduce borrowing costs to revive faltering growth. "Despite the dissenters, we view the tone of the meeting as broadly neutral," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote. "Although, given significantly slower growth and inflation forecasts, we now see a significant risk of policy rate cuts from the BoT this year," they added. The Thai baht retreated 0.4% while equities were down 0.2%. Other regional currencies were muted after comments from Federal Reserve officials indicated little urgency to cut interest rates until they have confidence on the inflation trajectory. Markets are now awaiting fresh U.S. economic data for further rate cut clues. Markets in Indonesia and Taiwan were closed for a holiday. In Asia, the Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged as expected while noting that inflation is on a downward trend in the country. The Philippine central bank is due to announce its interest rate decision next week. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reinforced its hawkish stance on Tuesday, noting upside risks to the inflation outlook despite slower annual inflation in January. Indonesia's presidential and legislative elections next week also remain on investors' watch list. HIGHLIGHTS: ** As China battles to shore up battered markets, investors hold out for more ** BOJ rules out rapid rate hikes, signals ending risky asset buying ** Mobile phone services suspended across Pakistan as voting begins Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0338 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan -0.07 -4.88 <.N2 1.71 9.78 25> ChinaEC> India +0.04 +0.33 <.NS 0.00 0.92 EI> Indones - -1.50 <.JK - -0.52 ia SE> Malaysi -0.06 -3.61 <.KL 0.22 4.24 a SE> Philipp +0.06 -0.94 <.PS 1.32 7.29 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo -0.04 -1.84 <.ST -0.27 -2.86 re I> Taiwan - -1.99 <.TW - 0.92 II> Thailan -0.42 -4.45 <.SE 0.19 -0.93 d TI> (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
MSCI TAIWAN (STRD)
Index
End-of-day quote MSCI 10:00:00 2024-06-19 am EDT | 5-day change | 1st Jan Change | ||
833.5 USD | +2.95% | +6.62% | +30.48% |
Jun. 14 | Philippine military chief urges fishermen to ignore China's new coastguard rules | RE |
Jun. 14 | Senior US diplomat warns of risks of accidental conflict sparked by China's moves | RE |
Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
|
Change
|
5d. change
|
Capi.
| ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2,712 PTS | -0.60% | -1.59% | - | ||
833.5 USD | +2.95% | +6.62% | - | ||
200.9 JPY | +0.01% | +0.17% | - | ||
169.8 JPY | +0.03% | +0.18% | - | ||
158 JPY | +0.04% | +0.79% | - | ||
122.9 INR | +0.55% | -0.94% | 6.68B | ||
115.2 JPY | -0.00% | +0.85% | - | ||
105.4 JPY | +0.01% | +0.96% | - | ||
96.88 JPY | -0.06% | -0.08% | - | ||
7.256 CNY | +0.04% | +0.26% | - | ||
1.894 JPY | -0.04% | +0.87% | - | ||
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