BENGALURU: Indonesian stocks dropped nearly 4 percent on Friday and the rupiah marked a record low over a barrage of concerns including a shrinking trade surplus and oil-driven inflation, while the South Korean won tumbled to its weakest level in 17 years.
Investors pulled back sharply from tech-heavy indexes in Seoul and Taipei after chipmaker Broadcom
delivered disappointing results, triggering a global selloff in technology stocks. Risk appetite was also dented by a lack of progress in US-Iran peace talks.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed down 5.5 percent in its worst session since mid-May, with chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shedding 6 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Taiwan stocks dropped 1.3 percent, with TSMC down 0.9 percent.
The losses in Taiwan and South Korea sent the MSCI EM Asia equity gauge down more than 3 percent in its worst session in three weeks.
India’s central bank kept the policy repo rate unchanged and announced a raft of measures to shore up the battered currency.
The rupee strengthened as much as 0.6 percent to 95.245 a dollar, while the Nifty 50 reversed course to slip 0.2 percent.
The Jakarta Composite Index fell for a third day in a row, shedding nearly 4 percent and hovering near December 2020 lows. The index has declined 35 percent so far in 2026, including 8 percent this week, making it the worst performer in the region.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy faces declining investor confidence over fiscal concerns, equity market governance issues, risks to central bank autonomy and a shifting commodity export policy.
“Despite the already sharp decline in Indonesian equities, there is still a lack of positive catalysts in the near term,” said Grace Tam, Asia deputy chief investment officer at BNP Paribas Wealth Management.
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