*
Thai baht leads gains, MYR snaps 5 days of gains
*
Indonesian central bank holds rate as expected
*
Benchmark Philippine stock index hits 4-month low
By Navya Mittal
March 16 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were mixed on
Thursday after problems at Credit Suisse renewed fears of a
full-blown global banking crisis, with the Indonesian rupiah
holding steady after the country's central bank left rates
unchanged in line with market expectation.
The rupiah eased 0.1%, while the country's benchmark
stock index fell 1.1%, after Bank Indonesia stuck by its
message that previous hikes were sufficient to steer inflation
back to within target later this year.
The central bank held rates at 5.75% and said inflation was
seen returning within its target range of 2%-4% from September.
Bank Indonesia is second in the region to pause rate hikes
after the Malaysian central bank earlier this month kept its
benchmark interest rate unchanged for the second consecutive
time.
Elsewhere in the region, the Malaysian ringgit snapped a five-day winning streak by shedding 0.5%, while
Thailand's baht appreciated 0.3%.
"The key factor now is moving towards risk aversion. So, I
think that may figure some dollar strength and flight towards
other safe-haven currencies like the yen," said Jeff Ng, a
senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank.
Credit Suisse's largest investor, Saudi National Bank, said
it could not raise its stake in the Swiss bank any further on
regulatory grounds, re-igniting jitters among investors about
the resilience of the global banking system just days after the
collapse of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Investors rushed to safe-haven currencies such as the U.S.
dollar and the Japanese yen . The yen appreciated
0.4% against the dollar, while the greenback fell after jumping
nearly 1% in the previous session. Some Southeast Asian countries so far have flagged no
significant or limited impact from the problems facing some
banks in the United States as well as Credit Suisse. Malaysia
said on Wednesday its banks had limited exposure to SVB.
Stocks across the region, notably financials, continued to
lose ground. Equities in Manila fell as much as 2.1% to
their lowest in four months, while shares in Thailand lost more than 1%.
Highlights
** Asian crops face El Nino threat, deepens food inflation
worries
** Singapore, Indonesia to cooperate on renewables, new Indonesia capital
** Benchmark Indonesia bond yields slipped 2.9 basis points to 6.728%, lowest since Feb. 21
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0732 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan +0.39 -1.33 <.N2 -0.80 5.03
25>
China <CNY=CFXS +0.00 -0.09 <.SS -1.12 4.46
> EC>
India -0.06 +0.09 <.NS -0.30 -6.54
EI>
Indonesi -0.13 +1.20 <.JK -1.13 -4.34
a SE>
Malaysia -0.51 -2.29 <.KL -0.66 -6.74
SE>
Philippi +0.18 +1.37 <.PS -0.95 -2.46
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.71 -3.69 <.KS -0.08 6.33
> 11>
Singapor +0.24 -0.63 <.ST -0.71 -3.10
e I>
Taiwan -0.10 +0.28 <.TW -1.08 7.66
II>
Thailand +0.28 +0.20 <.SE -1.25 -7.39
TI>
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Navya Mittal; Editing by Kim Coghill and Subhranshu Sahu)
