BENGALURU: Thai stocks clawed back gains on Wednesday after Thailand’s central bank delivered a widely expected rate cut, while the Indonesian rupiah recovered from a three-week low following its third consecutive policy hold.
Thailand’s benchmark index was 0.2 percent higher at 1,263.14 points after trading lower for much of the day, while the baht declined slightly to 31.505 per US dollar.
The Bank of Thailand cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent to support an economy struggling with multiple challenges, including a strong baht.
The baht is one of the top-performing emerging market currencies globally, having strengthened around 9 percent this year, which spells trouble for the export and tourism-reliant economy.
MUFG’s senior currency analyst, Lloyd Chan, anticipates one more rate cut in the first quarter of next year, adding that “softer growth and election risks ahead of the 8 February 2026 general election could cap baht upside”.
In Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s top economy, the central bank focussed on the local currency’s stability while holding its policy rate.
The rupiah bounced back from a three-week low to trade slightly higher at 16,680 per dollar. The benchmark equities gauge slipped 0.2 percent after the decision.
Broadly, equities in emerging Asia ticked higher on the day, led by South Korea’s KOSPI index, which jumped 1.5 percent to mark its best intraday gain in nearly two weeks.
Taiwan’s stocks also rose as much as 1 percent but gave up those gains to finish largely flat. Traders now await its central bank’s monetary policy decision on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect no policy change.
Taiwan’s dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 31.580 per US dollar, its weakest point since early May.