BENGALURU: Asian equities traded tentatively on Wednesday following a record run in the prior six months as US-Iran talks hit fresh snags, while currencies weakened against a resurgent dollar on rising prospects of an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike.
Investors took a breather following a stunning quarter marked by AI-fuelled rallies from South Korea to the United States, repeatedly tested by Middle East tensions, faltering peace talks and persistent inflation concerns. Iran on Tuesday said it would not meet with top US envoys who flew to the region following an outbreak of hostilities, clouding the prospects for a lasting peace between the two countries and dampening risk appetite.
The MSCI EM Asia equities gauge inched higher on the day, after adding over 30percent in the prior three months - its best quarterly showing since June 2009. That was largely due to AI-related stocks in South Korea and Taiwan.
On the day, Taiwan’s benchmark gauge advanced more than 2percent on the back of a 3.5percent gain in TSMC, while South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index dropped as much as 4percent.
Benchmark indexes in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand advanced marginally. Stocks in Indonesia advanced 0.7percent, but remained around three-week lows after a near 11percent decline since mid-June when MSCI raised new transparency concerns and later deferred Indonesia’s emerging market status review to November.
The rupiah slipped to as weak as 17,980 per US dollar, making another run at the key 18,000 level it has not crossed for the past three weeks.
Comments