* Graphic: World FX rates tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Asian stock markets: tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Investors eye U.S Fed meeting
* Malaysia exports rise at fastest pace in four years
* Higher U.S Treasury yields weigh on EM currencies
By Harish Sridharan
April 28 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were weaker on
Wednesday as a rise in U.S Treasury yields took some shine off
risk assets, while investor caution ahead of a U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting kept shares rudderless.
"Higher UST yields are weighing a tad on AxJ (Asia excluding
Japan) FX this morning. Caution could also be creeping in across
risk assets as earlier positive growth data has been somewhat
priced in and broad equity up-moves are beginning to show signs
of resistance," analysts at Maybank said in a note.
When the Fed's policy meeting concludes on Wednesday, Chair
Jerome Powell's is expected to reaffirm commitment to keeping
monetary policy accomodative over a prolonged time, though signs
of rising inflation expectations has raised some speculation
that policy could be tightened sooner than thought.
Malaysian government data showed exports jumped 31% in March
from a year earlier, rising at their fastest pace in nearly four
years, as the Southeast Asian country continues to recover from
the pandemic. Malaysian stocks were down 0.4%, while the
ringgit weakened 0.1%.
Singapore's central bank said that the city-state's economic
growth is likely to exceed 6% this year and added that its
accommodative monetary policy stance remained appropriate.
Shares and the Singapore dollar were both
marginally weaker.
The South Korean benchmark share index fell as much
as 1% and was on course to record its worst session for a week,
driven declines in and SK Hynix and Samsung
Electronics share prices, while the won
weakened 0.2%.
Indonesia's finance ministry on Tuesday said that it sold
28.05 trillion rupiah ($1.94 billion) worth of bonds in a
bi-weekly bond auction, slightly below its indicative target.
Analysts at OCBC Treasury Research said that even though the
bond auction in Indonesia went better than before and saw more
demand for five year and ten year bonds, the curve looked flat.
Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields were up 10.5 basis
points at 6.559%. The rupiah was marginally weaker.
Highlights
** Matichon PCL was up 24.55% and among the top
gainers on the Thailand's SETI
** In the Philippines, the top index gainer was Bloomberry
Resorts Corp, up 4.86%
** Among the heavyweights in South Korea, technology giant
Samsung Electronics fell 0.84% and peer SK Hynix
fell 2.96%
Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0511 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCK
DAILY YTD % X DAILY S YTD
% % %
Japan -0.12 -5.12 <.N2 0.37 6.03
25>
China <CNY=CFX -0.05 +0.65 <.SS -0.04 -0.92
S> EC>
India +0.28 -1.85 <.NS 0.64 5.47
EI>
Indones -0.10 -3.14 <.JK 0.12 -0.21
ia SE>
Malaysi -0.10 -1.95 <.KL -0.36 -1.62
a SE>
Philipp +0.06 -0.89 <.PS 1.77 -9.39
ines I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFT -0.18 -2.36 <.KS -0.91 10.88
C> 11>
Singapo -0.04 -0.42 <.ST -0.07 12.95
re I>
Taiwan +0.07 +2.14 <.TW -0.29 19.09
II>
Thailan -0.03 -4.53 <.SE 0.90 8.55
d TI>
(Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore)
Read More
