EEM•Thailand's SCG diversifies naphtha sourcing to deal with Gulf disruption
BOJ policymaker warns of price risks that may trigger rapid rate hikes
| Country | FX RIC | FX Daily % | FX YTD % | Index | Stocks Daily % | Stocks YTD % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | JPY= | -0.03 | +1.99 | .N225 | 0.20 | 25.93 |
| China | CNY=CFXS | +0.00 | +4.19 | .SSEC | -0.40 | -0.83 |
| India |
| INR=IN |
| -0.14 |
| -5.63 |
| .NSEI |
| 0.04 |
| -10.29 |
| Indonesia | IDR= | -0.20 | -4.93 | .JKSE | -0.35 | -23.04 |
| Malaysia | MYR= | +0.20 | -0.10 | .KLSE | -0.64 | 1.38 |
| Philippines | PHP= | -0.07 | -5.88 | .PSI | -0.40 | 0.65 |
| S.Korea | KRW= | -0.08 | +7.36 | .KS11 | -0.25 | 66.91 |
| Singapore | SGD= | +0.01 | +1.72 | .STI | -0.54 | 22.65 |
| Taiwan | TWD=TP | -0.21 | -0.42 | .TWII | 2.42 | 62.07 |
| Thailand | THB=TH | +0.00 | -4.38 | .SETI | -0.16 | 28.23 |
(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Emerging Asian stocks declined and currencies were flat on Thursday as the biggest wave of attacks on shipping in the ongoing six-month-old war in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices above $100 a barrel.
The MSCI EM Asia equities index .MIMS00000PUS slipped as much as 1.3%, while another gauge tracking ASEAN stocks .MISU00000PUS fell to a one-week low.
Brent crude surpassed the $100 mark on Wednesday for the first time since late July, threatening to stoke inflation and widen trade deficits in oil import-dependent emerging economies in Asia, pushing equities lower and bond yields higher.
James Ooi, a market strategist at Tiger Brokers, said U.S. President Donald Trump's prediction that the war with Iran will end "immediately after" the U.S. midterm elections in November "adds another layer of uncertainty."
Stocks in Seoul .KS11 and Taipei .TWII closed 0.3% and 0.5% lower. Mainline stock indexes of other net energy importers such as Thailand .SETI and the Philippines .PSI also declined 0.2% and 0.4%, while those in Jakarta .JKSE and Singapore .STI fell at least 0.4%.
Malaysia's benchmark gauge .KLSE fell 0.7% to a one-week low, while the ringgit MYR= appreciated nearly 0.2% to 4.06 per dollar after weakening steadily for nearly two weeks. The net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products remains moderately exposed to higher oil prices, with export and fiscal gains helping cushion growth and inflation pressures.
Currencies traded rangebound, with the MSCI gauge of emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS hovering just below its record high.
"Asian currencies have been relatively resilient because they are not trading purely as an energy story," said Fesa Wibawa, an investment manager at Aberdeen Investments.
The rally in the Japanese yen has contributed to broader dollar weakness, and regional currencies tend to benefit from that correlation, Wibawa said.
Central-bank management, external buffers and portfolio flows have also helped offset some of the terms-of-trade pressure from higher energy prices, Wibawa added.
The Singapore dollar SGD=, the Thai baht THB=TH and the Philippine peso PHP= were largely unchanged, while the Indonesian rupiah IDR= weakened 0.2% to 17,535 against the dollar.
The South Korean won KRW= strengthened against the greenback to 1,340.10, not far from its October 2024 peak of around 1,349.
Wibawa notes the won's strength is driven more by the broader dollar move and equity-related flows, hedging and institutional rebalancing than by South Korea's energy fundamentals, and warned that a sustained period of high oil prices would still represent a headwind.
Investors are also closely watching the U.S. inflation print due on Friday for further clues on the Federal Reserve's next policy move as rising oil prices stoke concerns of inflation.
