AIRLINK 74.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-0.28%)
BOP 5.01 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.6%)
CNERGY 4.51 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.45%)
DFML 42.44 Increased By ▲ 2.44 (6.1%)
DGKC 87.02 Increased By ▲ 0.67 (0.78%)
FCCL 21.58 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (1.03%)
FFBL 33.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.92%)
FFL 9.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.62%)
GGL 10.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.19%)
HBL 114.29 Increased By ▲ 1.55 (1.37%)
HUBC 139.94 Increased By ▲ 2.50 (1.82%)
HUMNL 12.25 Increased By ▲ 0.83 (7.27%)
KEL 5.21 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.33%)
KOSM 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-2.81%)
MLCF 38.09 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (0.77%)
OGDC 139.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-0.24%)
PAEL 25.87 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (1.02%)
PIAA 22.20 Increased By ▲ 1.52 (7.35%)
PIBTL 6.80 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PPL 123.58 Increased By ▲ 1.38 (1.13%)
PRL 26.81 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (0.87%)
PTC 14.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
SEARL 58.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-0.76%)
SNGP 68.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-1.36%)
SSGC 10.47 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (1.65%)
TELE 8.39 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.12%)
TPLP 11.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.09%)
TRG 63.21 Decreased By ▼ -0.98 (-1.53%)
UNITY 26.59 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.15%)
WTL 1.42 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-2.07%)
BR100 7,941 Increased By 103.5 (1.32%)
BR30 25,648 Increased By 196 (0.77%)
KSE100 75,983 Increased By 868.6 (1.16%)
KSE30 24,445 Increased By 330.8 (1.37%)

Most emerging Asian currencies and stocks declined on Thursday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of a key US jobs report that could give clarity on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.

South Korea’s won led the decline among currencies, falling as much as 0.9% to 1,324.70 per dollar. The unit was set to fall for a third consecutive session. The Indonesian rupiah slipped as much as 0.3%.

“The USD/KRW pair is trading towards 1,320, with KRW strength dampened by a softer RMB (renminbi) and a marked softening in Korea’s inflation,” analysts at DBS said in a note.

“Core inflation is not falling that quickly, easing slightly for November, which could underpin Bank Of Korea’s decision to hold rates for a longer period, supporting the KRW,” they added.

Data on Wednesday showed US private payrolls increased less than expected in November, in yet another sign that the labour market is gradually cooling.

Market participants will now focus on the non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which is likely to give a clearer view of the Fed’s future actions.

“Thus far, however, even as labour market metrics turned out to be softer than anticipated, USD continues to rise,” Maybank analysts wrote.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against six major rivals, was at 104.18 at 0355 GMT.

Asian currencies ease with US jobs data in focus

Investors also digested mixed economic data from China, Asia’s largest economy, which showed an uptick in exports while imports fell sharply, suggesting that domestic demand was still subdued.

Chinese stocks fell 0.3%, while the yuan traded flat.

Other currencies such as the Singapore dollar fell for the fourth straight session, while the Malaysian ringgit and Taiwan dollar traded 0.2% lower.

Thailand’s baht and stocks were down 0.2% and 1%, respectively, after Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy reported its November inflation print at its lowest in nearly three years.

Among Asian equities, stocks in Singapore fell as much as 1.1% to a near five-week low, while equities in Taiwan , Philippines and Malaysia slipped between 0.2% and 0.6%.

Comments

200 characters