5 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Asia equities rally, led by Indonesia and Singapore; currencies muted
SINGAPORE: Equities in emerging Asian markets trended higher on Monday, led by Indonesia, which gained for a sixth straight day, while Singapore's stocks touched a record high for the ninth consecutive session on strong investor inflows.
Stocks in Jakarta gained 1.3 per cent to scale their highest since June 18. Index provider MSCI said Barito Renewables , Petrindo Kreasi Jaya and Petrosea would be eligible for future inclusions to its list.
The three firms, advancing between 15.7 per cent and 18.6 per cent, are all linked to Indonesian billionaire Prajogo Pangestu, who founded conglomerate Barito Pacific.
"Today's push is also helped by clarity from MSCI (that) Barito group stocks are no longer treated as exceptions, making them eligible for future inclusion, which unlocks passive flows," said Mohit Mirpuri, an equity fund manager at SGMC Capital.
In Singapore, the benchmark added 0.4 per cent to scale to a fresh peak for the ninth consecutive session, as investors continued to embrace high-return defensive stocks, improving inflow into the local dollar.
"Domestic liquidity and market sentiment should also be bolstered by government initiatives aimed at reviving the equity market," said Kenneth Tang, senior portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management. Broadly, Asian equities slipped on Monday after briefly touching their highest since early 2022 in the previous session.
Shares in Taipei fell 0.7 per cent. Currency markets remained on edge but muted in response to fresh tariff threats from US President Donald Trump, who warned of a 30 per cent duty on imports from the European Union and Mexico.
The Mexican peso and the euro both weakened overnight, with the latter slipping to a three-week low. The Thai baht was the only gainer among Asian currencies, rising briefly to a six-session peak as gold prices touched a three-week high.
Thailand is one of the world's largest gold trading hubs, and fluctuations in prices can significantly impact the baht due to the volume of imports and exports. Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit, Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah weakened around 0.2 per cent.
While markets remain jittery over Washington's latest protectionist signals, many investors appear to be betting on a familiar playbook — a policy reversal. Bank Indonesia (BI) is set to announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday.
The market is divided on the central bank policy call as the ongoing tariff uncertainties could possibly delay any easing of monetary policy. Radhika Rao, a senior economist with DBS, said that despite a conducive inflation environment, recent financial market action might convince policymakers to stay on pause this week.
