* Fed rate cut bets pared back * Philippine stocks decline over 1% * Equities in S.Korea on track for worst week in five By John Biju May 24 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies and equities retreated on Friday as investors reassessed the timing of U.S. monetary policy easing following robust economic data and hawkish Federal Reserve meeting minutes. The Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht declined 0.3% each. Equities in the Philippines declined as much as 1.1% and Malaysian stocks retreated 0.6%. Equities in Taiwan slipped 0.3%, a day after a tech-fuelled rally following AI chip leader Nvidia's quarterly results which helped the benchmark hit a record high. Stocks in South Korea were on track for their worst week in five. Overnight data showed U.S. business activity accelerated to the highest level in just over two years in May and manufacturers reported a surge in prices for a range of inputs, denting sentiment towards riskier Asian assets with the market expecting the Fed to keep rates higher for longer. "For the year, markets are just pricing in 35 basis points (bps) cut compared to 44 bps cut a week ago," said Christopher Wong, a FX strategist at OCBC. Earlier this week, minutes from the Fed's April 30-May 1 meeting indicated willingness from some officials to consider a rate hike to reign in inflation. "The USD rate environment is undisputedly a key driver for sentiment in Asian markets," said Frances Cheung, a rates strategist at OCBC. "As long as the risk of Fed pivoting back to tightening is low, Asian markets shall be able to focus on domestic and idiosyncratic factors. The overall sentiment appears to be one that investors are convinced that peak Fed hawkishness has passed," Cheung added. Central banks in Asia such as the Bank Indonesia and Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged this week while the Philippine central bank hinted at cutting rates in August last week. "Most Asian central banks shall be able to primarily focus on domestic factors when they decide on monetary policy, while currency valuation comes into play if there is a material impact on imported inflation," Cheung said. The South Korean won declined 0.6% while stocks fell more than 1%. China started a second day of war games around Taiwan. The yuan was steady while equities slipped 0.2%. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Japan's inflation slows further, keeping BOJ cautious on further rate hikes ** Chile central bank cuts rate by 50 basis points to 6.0% ** EXPLAINER-China's latest property market support package- its contents and what's at stake Asia stock indexes and currenc ies at 0347 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan -0.10 -10.2 <.N2 -0.93 15.76 0 25> ChinaEC> India +0.08 -0.00 <.NS 0.00 5.69 EI> Indones - -3.72 <.JK - -0.69 ia SE> Malaysi -0.30 -2.67 <.KL -0.62 11.30 a SE> Philipp -0.03 -4.78 <.PS -0.83 2.40 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo -0.05 -2.44 <.ST -0.47 2.06 re I> Taiwan -0.03 -4.72 <.TW -0.25 20.20 II> Thailan -0.30 -6.97 <.SE -0.27 -3.65 d TI> (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Delayed 16:59:59 2024-06-14 EDT | 5-day change | 1st Jan Change | ||
1.07 USD | -0.32% | -0.90% | -3.01% |
06-13 | Dollar gains on hawkish Fed, even as inflation cools | RE |
06-13 | Ultra-loose financial conditions turn up summer heat on Fed: McGeever | RE |
Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
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Change
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5d. change
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Capi.
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799.5 USD | +0.68% | +3.78% | - | ||
131.9 USD | +1.75% | +9.09% | 3,241B | ||
7.27 CNH | +0.01% | +0.11% | - | ||
1.07 USD | -0.32% | -0.90% | - | ||
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