BENGALURU: Philippine stocks snapped a seven-day slide and those in Malaysia scaled a nine-month peak on Wednesday as investors focused on regional headlines and AI-related optimism, sidestepping concerns over the US government shutdown.
The MSCI EM Asia Index climbed 0.5 percent, tracking gains in the MSCI World Index, dominated by US stocks, that hovered near record highs.
“The global equity market reaction to the US government shutdown has overall been very limited so far, including that in Asia,” said Rajat Agarwal, Asia equity strategist at Societe Generale.
Shares in Manila traded up 1.2 percent after having ended in the red last month. The Philippine peso, which lost over 2 percent in September over economic and political uncertainty, edged 0.3 percent higher.
Stocks in Malaysia strengthened to their highest level since January 8, rising 0.7 percent, with analysts noting market focus shifting towards big-cap counters.
“Malaysian equities have been somewhat more resilient due to a stronger currency than some of the Asian peers,” said Agarwal.
The ringgit, which was marginally lower on the day, has risen 6.2 percent so far this year, emerging as the top gainer among its Southeast Asian peers.
The benchmark indexes in South Korea added 0.9 percent, while Taiwan stocks gained 0.6 percent.
Equities in Singapore, which gained for six straight months, added 0.6 percent and touched their highest since September 17.
Agarwal said stocks in Korea and Taiwan benefited from the AI trade momentum, and China - the top trading partner for many of these countries - remains less sensitive to external conditions. “The domestic investor sentiment is the key driver and that remains quite strong for now,” he added.
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