BENGALURU: South Korean and Philippine shares led gains among emerging Asian equities on Monday, with Korean chipmakers climbing on news of sharp price hikes by Samsung, while Manila stocks regained some ground after losses in the previous session.
Currencies in the region slipped as the dollar firmed, with investors bracing for the release of a slew of US economic data following the ending of the government shutdown.
South Korean stocks closed 1.9 percent higher, lifted by a near 4 percent gain in Samsung Electronics and a more than 8 percent surge in SK Hynix.
Both regained ground after earlier falls on concerns about stretched AI valuations.
Sources said Samsung raised prices of certain memory chips by as much as 60 percent this month compared to September.
Shares of tour agency Lotte Tour Development jumped 13.2 percent after China warned its citizens against travel to neighbouring Japan, helping redirect tourist flows towards South Korea.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in early November, sparked a diplomatic row with Beijing after telling parliament that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” and potentially trigger a military response.
Japan has now moved to ease its escalating row with China over Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s TSMC was another chipmaker that climbed, up 2.1 percent, though the island’s shares pared some earlier gains and were last up 0.2 percent.
Philippine stocks, the weakest performer among regional peers this year, advanced 3.5 percent, making gains despite a second day of mass protests against corruption on the streets of Manila. The benchmark closed 2.5 percent lower on Friday.
Elsewhere, stock markets in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia added between 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent.
The dollar index edged higher, keeping Asian currencies on the back foot. The South Korean won slipped 0.3 percent, easing after a 0.8 percent rebound on Friday, when authorities vowed to take measures to stabilise the country’s wobbly currency.
The Philippine peso lost 0.4 percent earlier in the session, falling to its lowest since October 28.
The Malaysian ringgit and the Singapore dollar lost 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
The Indonesian rupiah inched 0.2 percent lower. Investors await Bank Indonesia’s policy decision on Wednesday for further clarity on the central bank’s rate trajectory.
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