*
Thai Bath, Indonesian rupiah up 0.5%, respectively
*
Philippine peso depreciates 0.5%
*
Equities rise across the board
By Jaskiran Singh March 28 (Reuters) -
Asian currencies and equities rose on Tuesday, with the Malaysian ringgit and the Indonesian
rupiah hitting multi-week highs, after a deal to cover the failing Silicon Valley Bank's
deposits and loans brought some stability to markets worried about a crisis in the global
banking system.
With risk-on sentiment gaining traction, the safe haven U.S. dollar slid for a second day. The Thai baht led regional gains, appreciating 0.5%, after slumping close to a percent in the previous session. "The upbeat sentiment across Asian markets is mainly attributed to the stabilisation of the U.S. and European banking industry, said Glenn Yin, head of research and analysis at AETOS Capital Group. On the other hand, the Chinese yuan and shares in Shanghai stood flat as investors waited on the sidelines for further evidence that the country is on track for a solid economic recovery after recent data gave mixed signals. The Philippine peso was on track to snap its three-day winning streak, falling 0.5%, while stocks in Manila were slightly up, in-line with broader gains. "The key driver behind this (the peso's fall) is actually on the other side of the coin – a stabilising outlook benefits the U.S. central bank in terms of continuing its hiking path as well as a higher expected future terminal rate," said Yin. Globally, markets rose after U.S. authorities backed a deal for First Citizens BancShares to buy Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) assets, soothing wider worries about the sector sparked by the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. Nevertheless, U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said on Monday that stress among small banks could hit small businesses hardest. "I remain heartened by how well Asia emerging currencies have weathered the recent bout of global market volatility in March. I think it sets them up to gain further ground through the course of the year, said Alvin Tan, head of Asian FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets. Elsewhere, the Malaysian ringgit and the Indonesian rupiah both rose 0.5% - a five week high for the first, and the highest level since early February for the latter currency.
"They (the ringgit and rupiah) have performed largely in line with the broad Asia FX complex month-to-date. The Malaysian ringgit is doing better (in March) than the Indonesian rupiah as the latter was hit harder by the volatility spike in the wake of SVB's collapse," said Tan.
Equities in the region mirrored the upbeat sentiment with shares in Thailand and Singapore gaining 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Vietnam FDI Q1 inflows down 2.2% y/y at $4.3 billion
** Asia growth rate estimated at 4.5% in 2023 - Boao Forum annual report
** China spent $240 bln bailing out 'Belt & Road' countries - study
Asia stock
indexes and
currencies
at 0624
GMT
COUNTRY FX FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
RIC DAILY % YTD % DAILY % YTD %
Japan +0.50 +0.15 0.15 5.46
China -0.03 +0.27 0.05 5.30
India +0.16 +0.58 -0.07 -6.25
Indonesia +0.46 +3.18 0.42 -1.65
Malaysia +0.50 +0.07 0.34 -6.30
Philippines -0.46 +2.35 0.42 0.86
S.Korea +0.19 -2.66 0.92 8.71
Singapore +0.23 +0.89 0.82 0.43
Taiwan +0.02 +1.13 -0.81 11.06
Thailand +0.50 +0.85 0.66 -3.88
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
