Emerging Asian equities fell 0.3% to their weakest level since late July, with the regional index on track for a fourth straight weekly loss as investors moved into safe havens. The Philippine peso recovered slightly from a record low, while the Indonesian rupiah weakened to its lowest level since late July.
Emerging Asian equities fell on Friday as investors sold regional technology stocks and shifted toward safe havens including U.S. Treasuries and the yen amid concerns about AI funding needs. The MSCI emerging Asia equities index fell 0.3% to its weakest level since late July and was on track for a fourth consecutive weekly loss.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.2% to a nearly three-month low, with Samsung Electronics down 0.4%. The retreat followed a 2.6% drop in the Nasdaq after Meta posted its first cash outflow in more than a decade due to AI-related expenditures. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 19.3 basis points on Thursday, its largest daily decline since March 2023.
The Philippine peso recovered to 63.379 per dollar after touching a record low of 63.502 on Thursday, but remained down about 0.7% for the week. The Indonesian rupiah slipped to 18,075 per dollar, its weakest level since late July. Indonesian stocks rose 1.1%, extending their four-session gain to about 8%.
