*
Philippine peso, Thai baht lead gains
*
China's Caixin PMI rose to 51.6 in Feb, beating
expectations
*
Markets in South Korea closed for a public holiday
By Upasana Singh March 1 (Reuters) - Most stock markets in emerging Asia rose on Wednesday after strong manufacturing activity data from China lifted sentiment, while investors continued to assess the likelihood of further interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Equities in Manila climbed 1% to lead gains. Singapore's benchmark index and Jakarta shares advanced 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Currencies in the region were mostly muted, with Malaysia's ringgit and Indonesia's rupiah trading flat. The Singapore dollar was up 0.1%. The Philippine peso rose 0.6%, while the Thai baht appreciated 0.4%.
Annual inflation in the Philippines was likely within a
range of 8.5% to 9.3% in February, the country's central bank
said on Tuesday, adding that it would continue to adjust its
monetary policy stance as necessary to prevent the further
broadening of price pressures.
Data showed China's non-manufacturing activity grew at a
faster pace in February, while factory activity rose for the
first time in seven months as the country shook off its strict
COVID curbs.
"For now, the market is reminded that China's recovery is
showing no signs of faltering," said Eugenia Victorino, head of
Asia strategy at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken.
The yuan firmed 0.3%. Equities in Shanghai advanced 0.9%.
"The data will provide some relief to global risk sentiment,
but it will be difficult to counteract the intensification of
negative sentiment amid higher for longer Fed rate
expectations," said Mitul Kotecha, head of EM Strategy at TD
Securities.
A slew of upbeat U.S. economic data in recent weeks has
heightened expectations that the Fed would hike rates to a
higher level than market forecasts and keep them elevated for
longer than was initially expected.
Fed fund futures suggest rates peaking at around 5.4% by
September, with a chance of a 50 basis point hike in March. "U.S. non-farm payrolls and CPI (consumer price index) reads
will be important to gauge the strength of U.S. demand, which
could lead to USD/Asia resuming its appreciation path," said Wei
Liang Chang, macro strategist at DBS Bank.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** The Philippine government posted a budget deficit of 1.6
trillion pesos for 2022
** India's economic growth slowed further in the December
quarter as pent up demand eased and weakness in the
manufacturing sector continued
** Taiwan's defence ministry said it had spotted 19 Chinese
air force planes in its air defence zone in the past 24 hours,
part of what Taipei calls regular harassment by Beijing
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0343 GMT.
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan -0.10 -3.83 <.N2 0.01 5.18
25>
China <CNY=CFXS +0.25 -0.23 <.SS 0.91 7.12
> EC>
India +0.36 +0.43 <.NS 0.00 -4.43
EI>
Indonesi -0.03 +2.07 <.JK 0.21 0.10
a SE>
Malaysia +0.04 -1.85 <.KL -0.32 -3.08
SE>
Philippi +0.55 +1.18 <.PS 0.95 0.80
nes I>
Singapor +0.11 -0.50 <.ST 0.26 0.61
e I>
Taiwan -0.44 +0.30 <.TW 0.33 10.02
II>
Thailand +0.43 -1.34 <.SE 0.22 -2.56
TI>
(Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru)
