* Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit hit near 1-month low * Thai stocks hit over 3-year low * Argentina devalues peso by 50% By John Biju Dec 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian stocks retreated on Wednesday with those in Thailand hitting an over three-year low, while currencies were on the defensive as markets awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's final policy decision of the year and its monetary easing timeline. Stocks in Thailand slid 0.8% to their lowest level since Nov. 18, 2020. Equities in Indonesia fell 0.7%, while those in South Korea retreated 0.6%. The Philippine peso and the Malaysian ringgit declined 0.5% each, both hitting their lowest level in nearly one month. The broad focus in markets was on the Fed, which is due to announce its rate decision at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting later on Wednesday. Market expectations are for policymakers to keep rates on hold, but investors will be waiting to see the Fed's view on the timing of possible rate-cuts even as data overnight showed U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rose in November. The slightly firmer inflation readings followed data last week showing job gains accelerated in November. "The sticky U.S. CPI data slightly dampened rate cut expectations. Against this backdrop, investors are tempted to trim their position for Fed's dovish shift tonight and risk assets in Asia dipped," Ken Cheung, chief Asia FX strategist at Mizuho Bank said. Investors in emerging market assets will also be watching developments in Argentina, where new Economy Minister Luis Caputo said the government will weaken the peso over 50% versus the dollar, cut energy subsidies, and cancel tenders of public works in efforts to fix the country's worst crisis in decades. Back in Asia, data in India showed retail inflation in November rose at its fastest pace in three months, bolstering bets that the central bank will not ease interest rates anytime soon. That contrasted with price trends in other Asian countries such as Thailand, Philippines and South Korea where data last week showed inflation cooling in November. "The inflation outlook in Asia may not allow the Asian central banks to enter rate cut cycle very soon and the narrowing yield gap between U.S. and EM Asia will favour capital inflow to Asian region," Cheung said. Stocks in Manila fell 0.4%. The Philippine central bank's policy decision on Thursday is also on investors' radar, with expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will leave interest rates unchanged. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Thai inflation to gradually speed up to within targeted range -c.bank ** Taiwan's central bank is expected to leave its policy rate unchanged on Thursday ** Japan's business mood hits near 2-year high, keeps BOJ exit in focus Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0419 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS DAILY YTD % X DAILY YTD % % % Japan -0.14 -9.97 <.N2 0.11 25.99 25> ChinaEC> India +0.01 -0.79 <.NS -0.10 15.35 EI> Indones +0.01 -0.31 <.JK -0.66 3.33 ia SE> Malaysi -0.45 -6.44 <.KL 0.01 -3.22 a SE> Philipp -0.51 -0.22 <.PS -0.42 -4.58 ines I> S.Korea -0.62 -4.41 <.KS -0.56 12.72 11> Singapo -0.20 -0.31 <.ST -0.06 -4.64 re I> Taiwan -0.03 -2.58 <.TW 0.05 23.49 II> Thailan -0.22 -3.20 <.SE -0.78 -18.31 d TI> (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
Real-time Estimate TTMZero 10:29:36 2024-06-28 EDT | 5-day change | 1st Jan Change | ||
0.6672 USD | +0.34% | +0.51% | -2.01% |
03:20pm | Wall Street: inflation brings some visibility | CF |
03:11pm | Fed's Daly: 'good news' inflation data adds to evidence policy is 'tight enough' | RE |
Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
|
Change
|
5d. change
|
Capi.
| ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2,810 PTS | +0.57% | +3.12% | - | ||
975.9 ARS | +0.14% | +0.79% | - | ||
912 ARS | +0.16% | +0.71% | - | ||
821 USD | +0.89% | -3.20% | - | ||
202.7 JPY | -0.25% | +0.33% | - | ||
171.7 JPY | -0.23% | +0.53% | - | ||
160.4 JPY | -0.18% | +0.45% | - | ||
117.2 JPY | -0.13% | +0.45% | - | ||
107.1 JPY | +0.20% | +0.93% | - | ||
97.78 JPY | +0.02% | +0.03% | - | ||
7.264 CNY | -0.05% | +0.06% | - | ||
1.926 JPY | -0.01% | +0.68% | - | ||
1.264 USD | -0.07% | -0.09% | - | ||
1.07 USD | -0.05% | +0.13% | - | ||
0.73 USD | +0.02% | +0.05% | - | ||
0.6672 USD | +0.34% | +0.51% | - | ||
0.6094 USD | +0.16% | -0.41% | - | ||
0.012 USD | +0.16% | 0.00% | - | ||
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