BENGALURU: An index of emerging Asia equities booked its steepest one-day loss in a week on Wednesday, with Singapore and South Korea shedding the most, as surging crude prices and US yields holding near multi-year peaks steered investors away from the region.
Oil climbed back above USD100 a barrel as a storm heading for North American oil-producing regions and Houthi attacks on top exporter Saudi Arabia raised supply worries. US Treasury yields, meanwhile, remained near 24-year highs touched earlier this week due to concerns around inflation and European debt contagion.
MSCI’s index of EM Asia equities fell 0.9 percent, its sharpest single-day decline since September 28.
Stocks in Taiwan, another AI-linked market, closed marginally down by 16.18 points. The benchmark had scored a record high of 49,968.92 in the previous session.
Singapore equities declined as much as 1.7 percent to a two-month low, while Malaysian shares lost 1.3 percent to hit their lowest since December 2025.
The Jakarta Composite Index gave up early gains to edge down as much as 0.8 percent.
In India, the central bank hiked rates by 25 basis points, its first increase in nearly four years, to tackle persistent inflation brought on by the Iran war.
The rupee weakened past 96.50 per US dollar for the first time since late July.
The Thai baht, however, weakened 0.3 percent.