BENGALURU: Asian emerging markets currencies declined on Wednesday as the dollar scaled a two-week peak, while most equity indexes gained as investors shrugged off US President Donald Trump’s ever-changing tariff salvos.
The US dollar index climbed to a two-week high of 97.598 against a basket of major currencies, buoyed by Trump’s protectionist measures on imports that have sent countries scrambling to secure a deal by August 1.
On Tuesday, Trump said the new deadline won’t be extended further, reversing market optimism.
The MSCI gauge of global emerging market currencies slipped for the fourth consecutive session on the day.
Malaysia’s ringgit, Thailand’s baht, Indonesia’s rupiah and Singapore’s dollar hovered near their two-week lows, while the Philippine peso was largely unchanged.
Vietnam’s dong and Mexico’s peso eased slightly.
Equities, on the other hand, were trending higher. Singapore shares touched an all-time high for the sixth straight day, while stocks in Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan rose as much as a percentage point.
Market participants took the latest round of Trump tariffs in stride and were immune to the tariff noise, Michael Brown, senior research strategist at forex broker Pepperstone, said.
“While there’s a chance the new tariff threats could well come to fruition... the path of least resistance for equities should continue leading higher.”
The ringgit remained steady, while equities dropped as much as 0.5% to a two-week low after Malaysia’s central bank slashed its key interest rate by 25 basis points, as was widely expected.
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