*
S.Korean won weakens 0.6%
*
Stocks in Jakarta and Manila fall over 1%
*
Yuan weakens to a 7-week low
By Himanshi Akhand Feb 22 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian currencies and equities edged lower on Wednesday as expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates weighed on risk appetite, while investors awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting. Among the currencies, the South Korean won fell most, 0.6%, while the Malaysian ringgit and the Philippine peso weakened 0.1% each. The Indonesian rupiah was 0.2% lower and Jakarta stocks fell 1.3%. Indonesia reported a 90.8 trillion rupiah ($5.97 billion) budget surplus for January, equal to 0.43% of gross domestic product.
The dollar clocked modest gains after data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. business activity had unexpectedly rebounded in February to reach its highest level in eight months, raising bets that the Fed would keep lifting interest rates. "The recent stream of economic data has been pointing towards resilience in U.S. economic conditions and while the narrative has been one of 'no landing' as opposed to the previous 'hard landing', interest rate expectations are also seeing a hawkish recalibration as a result," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG. "This recalibration seems to be the catalyst for jitters."
All regional equities markets were weaker, with stocks in South Korea and the Philippines declining 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively. The Taiwanese dollar inched 0.3% lower ahead of the fourth-quarter GDP data, due later in the day. "Final GDP for 4Q should contract 0.9% year-on-year ... reflecting the impact on the economy of weak demand for electronics, mainly semiconductors," analysts at ING wrote in a note.
"This weakness should continue at least in 1Q23, which
implies the chance of a slight recession in Taiwan," they added.
Stocks in Shanghai fell 0.3% as geopolitical
tensions kept sentiment weak around the anniversary of the
Russia-Ukraine war. The yuan weakened to a seven-week
low.
Meanwhile, China expects its tourism market to flourish this
year with a robust summer travel season after the government
ended its zero-COVID policy.
Data from the China Tourism Academy showed that domestic
tourism revenue in 2023 could reach about 4 trillion yuan
($580.8 billion), up about 95% on a year earlier.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesian President Joko Widodo will nominate central
bank governor Perry Warjiyo for a second five-year term and will
put forward no other candidates for the post, three sources
familiar with the matter said on Tuesday
** The Reserve Bank of India will increase its main interest
rate by 25 basis points to 6.75% in April and then pause until
the end of 2023, according to a Reuters poll
** The Bank of Japan said it would conduct emergency bond
buying after the yield on benchmark 10-year government bonds
breached the top end of the central bank's policy band for a
second straight session
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0405 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan +0.05 -2.82 <.N2 -1.27 3.94
25>
China <CNY=CFXS -0.09 +0.10 <.SS -0.25 6.76
> EC>
India -0.03 -0.11 <.NS -0.48 -2.01
EI>
Indonesi -0.18 +2.32 <.JK -1.13 -0.80
a SE>
Malaysia -0.08 -0.77 <.KL -0.28 -1.71
SE>
Philippi -0.11 +1.07 <.PS -1.30 2.23
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.56 -2.97 <.KS -1.23 8.60
> 11>
Singapor +0.09 +0.05 <.ST -0.09 1.61
e I>
Taiwan -0.34 +0.62 <.TW -0.90 9.09
II>
Thailand -0.13 -0.14 <.SE -0.26 -0.26
TI>
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
