BENGALURU: Asian currencies were subdued and stocks were mixed on Thursday after an in-line US inflation report offered little impetus to regional markets, although traders trimmed expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate increase.
The MSCI index of EM currencies was little changed. The Taiwan dollar rose 0.2 percent, bucking broader weakness, while the Philippine peso and Malaysian ringgit each fell 0.2 percent.
The South Korean won slipped 0.1 percent, with the Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar and Thai baht also marginally weaker.
Data showed US consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in July, in line with expectations. Fed funds futures were pricing in a 40 percent chance of a rate increase in September, down from 54 percent a week earlier, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
The dollar held broadly steady after the inflation data, with the index little changed at 99.976.
Asian equities found more support, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 1 percent to a nearly one-month high.
Indonesian stocks dropped 1.2 percent, while investors assessed MSCI’s decision to remove ride-hailing firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia from its Indonesia index at the end of August.
Elsewhere, Philippine equities fell 1.1 percent, Malaysian shares lost 0.3 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.2 percent. Thai stocks rose 0.3 percent.
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