* Most Asian currencies flat, equities edge higher * Thai baht hits lowest level in nearly a month * US CPI, Fed policy meeting in focus By John Biju Dec 12 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian equities eked out small gains on Tuesday and currencies treaded water, as investors exercised caution while waiting for key inflation data from the U.S. and India ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Equities in South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia gained between 0.2% and 0.4%. "Most of the currencies, asset classes are in consolidation mode ahead of some of these key events data releases," Christopher Wong, FX strategist at OCBC said. "We have come to a point that market is just not doing too much, staying sidelines and just deciding after the data what comes after next." The closely-watched U.S. Labor Department's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due later on Tuesday is expected to show inflation still cooling but staying well above the Fed's 2% annual target, with core CPI expected to come in at 4%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a hold in rates on Wednesday and to keep interest rates unchanged until at least July, later than earlier thought. Wong said rate cuts from the Fed would be positive for Asian currencies but the extent of how much they could appreciate into next year would depend on how Asian economies fared, in particular China. The Indian rupee was largely flat, while stocks added a marginal 0.2% ahead of the country's inflation data, which will play a crucial role in determining the trajectory of future monetary policy. The Reserve Bank of India held rates steady last week, but flagged the outlook for inflation remained uncertain. Thailand's baht (THB) retreated 0.8% to hit its lowest level since Nov. 16. "THB is playing catch-up with the consolidation in the EM (emerging markets) Asia FX after yesterday's bank holiday, which comes on the heels of the stronger-than-envisaged U.S. payrolls last week," Nicholas Chia, macro strategist at Standard Chartered said. Monetary policy decisions from central banks in the Philippines and Taiwan are also on investors' radar this week. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to leave interest rates unchanged for a second month on Thursday due to cooling inflation, according to a Reuters poll. Taiwan's central bank is also expected to leave its policy rate unchanged on Thursday. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Malaysia PM names pension fund CEO as second finance minister in major reshuffle ** Japan Nov wholesale inflation slows sharply as cost pressures ease ** China's leaders meet to discuss growth targets for 2024, say sources Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0422 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan +0.39 -9.95 <.N225 0.34 26.09 > China> India +0.03 -0.78 <.NSEI 0.17 16.17 > Indones -0.12 -0.40 <.JKSE 0.20 3.68 ia > Malaysi -0.04 -6.02 <.KLSE -0.09 -3.37 a > Philipp -0.13 +0.16 0.15 -5.01 ines S.Korea +0.00 -4.20 <.KS11 0.28 13.24 > Singapo +0.10 -0.18 0.42 -4.56 re Taiwan +0.08 -2.47 <.TWII 0.15 23.39 > Thailan -0.77 -2.89 <.SETI -0.61 -17.7 d > 5 (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% |
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Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
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Change
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5d. change
|
Capi.
| ||
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2,714 PTS | -0.52% | -1.54% | - | ||
833.5 USD | +2.95% | +6.62% | - | ||
722 GBX | 0.00% | -2.67% | 23.16B | ||
122.9 INR | +0.55% | -0.94% | 6.68B | ||
89.66 INR | +0.01% | -0.60% | - | ||
83.41 INR | +0.03% | +0.00% | - | ||
60.82 INR | -0.02% | +0.06% | - | ||
55.66 INR | +0.04% | +0.20% | - | ||
7.256 CNY | +0.04% | +0.26% | - | ||
1.272 USD | -0.03% | -0.63% | - | ||
1.075 USD | -0.01% | -0.61% | - | ||
0.7292 USD | -0.04% | +0.07% | - | ||
0.6674 USD | +0.00% | +0.18% | - | ||
0.6133 USD | -0.07% | -0.84% | - | ||
0.012 USD | -0.02% | 0.00% | - | ||
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- Most Asian equities inch up, currencies muted ahead of US inflation data