BENGALURU: Equities in Southeast Asia fell on Tuesday, with Malaysia and Singapore leading losses, as oil prices climbed above USD90 a barrel and a global bond selloff fuelled by concerns about inflation and tighter monetary policy weighed on risk assets across emerging markets.
The MSCI gauge of ASEAN stocks fell 0.3 percent to a two-week low, pressured by a 0.8 percent fall in Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times index and Malaysia’s benchmark stock index.
A broader gauge of emerging Asia equities rose 0.5 percent, supported by Taiwan’s stocks, which climbed 1.8 percent after hitting a near two-month high earlier in the session.
South Korea’s KOSPI index was up 0.2 percent in afternoon trade in Singapore.
Global bond yields hit fresh highs after renewed fighting in the Middle East lifted oil prices and reignited inflation concerns.
Malaysian stocks fell 1.3 percent after dropping as much as 1.6 percent earlier in the day, their weakest intraday performance since March. Broad-based losses in banking, industrial and consumer shares weighed on the benchmark index.
Among currencies, the Malaysian ringgit weakened 0.3 percent, while the South Korean won slipped 0.3 percent against the dollar. The Thai baht lost 0.2 percent and the Indonesian rupiah eased 0.1 percent.
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