BENGALURU: The Indonesian rupiah gained ground on Monday after stumbling to near five-month lows last week as the central bank stayed vigilant against currency volatility, while most of its regional peers also crept higher against a wobbly dollar.
Indonesia’s currency rose as much as 0.5 percent to 16,650 against the dollar, after ending last week near its weakest since April 30.
Asian equities also gained as investors eyed a US payrolls report, due later in the week, which could prove crucial to the Federal Reserve’s rate cut trajectory, though a possible government shutdown threatened to cloud the economic outlook.
The MSCI’s EM Asia equities index rose 1.4 percent to mark its best intra-day gain in more than two weeks, led by South Korea’s KOSPI, which rebounded over 1 percent from Friday’s two-week low.
The MSCI gauge was on course to snap a seven-day losing streak, powered by strength in Singaporean banks. Thai stocks climbed up to 0.9 percent, with risk appetite improving on government’s efforts to revive the economy. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul laid out his policy agenda in parliament, focusing on measures to tackle living costs, household debt, and bolster tourism. Last week, he signaled plans to dissolve parliament by January, paving the way for an election in March or early April.
Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist with Krung Thai Bank, said that plans of dissolving parliament by January may ease some political uncertainty.
Equities elsewhere traded higher, with Singapore and Indonesia up 0.2 percent each. India and China gained between 0.1 percent and 0.9 percent while Jakarta stocks were trading around 20 points shy of a record close.
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