* South Korea won, but equities were shaken by the virus outbreak * Singapore stocks fell more than 1% The baht has dropped to levels not seen in almost a year, owing to concerns about Thai growth from the central bank.
Anushka Trivedi contributed to this article.
Reuters, 7 July – The won touched a two-week low on predictions of stricter COVID-19 controls in South Korea, while Asian currencies and shares dropped on Wednesday as investors reduced risk ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes.
The Thai baht, Indonesian rupiah, and Malaysian ringgit all fell between 0.1 and 0.3 percent as investors awaited the release of Fed minutes later on Wednesday, hoping to learn more about the central bank’s timeline for tapering its asset-buying program and rate hikes, which it hinted at at its June meeting.
A rise in US yields and the dollar as a result would reduce demand for emerging market assets, a risk that has kept Asian currencies under pressure since the Fed meeting.
After a volatile Wall Street day, Asian equities slid across the board, with Singapore stocks down 1.3 percent and Malaysia and Philippine stocks down 0.6 percent.
Investor sentiment was also harmed by weaker-than-expected US services data due to labor shortages, emphasizing the chances of a COVID-19 outbreak in numerous parts of the world, according to IG’s market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
There were also concerns that the spread of the Delta variety would cause more lockdowns and restrictions, especially in wealthy economies, derailing the global recovery and further harming countries with poor vaccination rates.
After South Korea announced over 1,200 coronavirus cases, the largest daily figure since late December, when the country’s healthcare system nearly collapsed, the won led Asian currencies lower and Seoul stocks fell 0.6 percent.
Seoul’s limitations were prolonged for another week, and officials warned that limits could be tightened even more across the country to control the highly contagious Delta variant-fueled fresh wave of infections.
The Thai baht fell to a more than one-year low after minutes from last week’s central bank meeting indicated that the central bank was concerned that the country’s economy could miss expectations as it battled the largest COVID-19 epidemic in history.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark rates are down 5.4 basis points to 6.535 percent. ** Wilmar International Ltd is down 2.6 percent, and DBS Group Holdings Ltd is down 2.5 percent on the Singapore STI.
** The top index losers in the Philippines are DMCI Holdings Inc, which is down 2.8 percent, and GT Capital Holdings Inc, which is down 2.5 percent.
At 0453 GMT, Asian stock indices and currencies were trading.
INDEX STOCKS DAILY percent STOCKS YTD percent COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY percent FX YTD percent COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY percent FX YTD percent COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY percent FX YTD percent COUNTRY FX
+0.07 -6.59 -0.96 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37 3.37
+0.12 +0.88 0.44 2.09 China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China
-2.15 -0.03 13.10 India -0.17
Indonesia -0.21 -3.14 -0.25 0.88 Indonesia -0.21 -3.14 -0.25 0.88 Indonesia -0.21 -3
Malaysia -0.06 -3.28 -0.40 -6.25 Malaysia -0.06 -3.28 -0.40 -6.25 Malaysia -0.06 -3
Philippines -0.10 -3.56 -0.98 -3.02 Philippines -0.10 -3.56 -3.02 Philippines -0.10 -3.56 -3
S.Korea -0.58 -4.41 -0.73 14.19 S.Korea -0.58 -4.41 -0.73 14.19 S.Korea –
Singapore -0.01 -1.94 -1.48 10.53 Singapore -0.01 -1.94 -1.48 10.53
-0.18 +1.85 -0.47 21.01 Taiwan Taiwan -0.18 +1.85 -0.47 Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan
-0.31 -7.19 -0.38 9.38 Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand Thailand
(In Bengaluru, Anushka Trivedi reported; Muralikumar Anantharaman edited)/n
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