BENGALURU: A gauge of emerging Asian stocks hit a peak on Monday, after Taiwan and South Korea benchmarks closed at record levels on AI-fuelled rallies, while regional currencies struggled as investors assessed the US-Iran peace deal.
The MSCI EM Asia gauge advanced as much as 1.5 percent to hit a record high. South Korea and Taiwan stock benchmarks make up about 60 percent of the index.
Taiwan’s benchmark surged 2.8 percent to close at 47,741.51 points, its sixth consecutive session of gains. South Korea’s main KOSPI index closed 0.7 percent higher at 9,114.55 points.
SK Hynix became the world’s most valuable memory chipmaker, overtaking Samsung Electronics, underpinned by the growing demand for the chips used in AI systems for customers such as Nvidia and Alphabet’s Google.
A steady US dollar kept Asian currencies under pressure as investors remained cautious about oil-import-dependent emerging-market economies. The MSCI EM currencies gauge dipped 0.3 percent for a third consecutive session. The Indonesian rupiah weakened to 17,825 per dollar, while the Indian rupee snapped a six-session winning streak to slip to 94.405 a dollar.
For Indonesia, a highly anticipated MSCI verdict on the country’s emerging markets status in early Asia hours on Wednesday could provide a lift to an under-pressure market or deal yet another blow to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
The South Korean won dipped 0.5 percent to 1,539 per dollar, not far from a two-week low. The Philippine peso also fell to its weakest point since June 12, sliding for the fifth consecutive session. Thailand’s baht inched 0.3 percent lower, ahead of the central bank’s policy decision, due on Wednesday.
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