BENGALURU: Asian currencies firmed and most stock markets rose on Thursday as investors appeared to dismiss US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, while expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut boosted risk appetite and weakened the dollar.
The Taiwan dollar led the gains, rising 0.6% to a one-week high. The South Korean won advanced 0.5%, while the Indonesian rupiah and Thai baht both climbed 0.3%.
The greenback held on to its losses against major peers as weak US jobs data cemented bets for a US rate cut, keeping the initial jobless claims numbers due this week in focus.
Markets largely shook off Trump’s latest tariff moves, including an additional 25% tariff on India over Russian oil purchases and a threatened 100% duty on semiconductor chips.
Most Asian tech heavyweights are expected to be exempt from chip levies if they have committed to US manufacturing or are establishing operations there.
However, some markets showed vulnerability to tariff threats. Philippine shares fell 1% after the president of the domestic semiconductor industry warned that 100% tariffs could be “devastating,” given semiconductors comprise 70% of the country’s total electronics exports.
The index recouped the losses to trade flat by 0740 GMT, while the peso gained 0.3%. Threatened tariffs on pharmaceutical and technology sectors could provide the greenback support this month, even as further weakness in the dollar is anticipated following the weak payrolls data, warned Jeff Ng, head of Asia macro strategy at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
Regional stock markets advanced elsewhere, with Singapore and South Korea both rising more than 0.8%.
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