*
Thai cenbank hikes rates by 25 bps
*
Alibaba's Hong Kong shares soar over 16%
*
Vietnam's economic growth slows in Q1
By Harshita Swaminathan March 29 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies inched lower on Wednesday as investors awaited key U.S. data due on Friday for more monetary policy cues, while the Thai baht cut losses after the country's central bank delivered an expected 25 basis-point interest rate hike. The baht was last down 0.1% at 34.26 to the dollar. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) delivered its fifth consecutive 25-bp hike in a unanimous vote and trimmed its 2023 growth outlook. Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank, said the lower growth target was unexpected, adding that the unanimous vote for a 25-bp rate increase paved the way for another hike in May. Traders are looking out for February's personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data from the U.S., the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, to further assess the way forward for interest rates and the dollar. This seems to have taken some of the focus off the global banking sector. Markets have been concerned about a global banking sector downturn since the unexpected failure of two U.S. regional banks and the rescue of Credit Suisse in Europe. Late last week, European lender Deutsche Bank's 5-year credit default swaps rose to late-2018 levels, indicating slowing confidence in the sector. However, they later eased. "The weekend concerns (over the banking sector) have certainly dissipated partially, although I still anticipate some of the concerns to linger on," said Jeff Ng, a senior currency analyst at MUFG. "I think, maybe right now, the markets may be taking a breather and watching out for the PCE numbers on Friday." The Indonesian rupiah , Singapore's dollar and the Philippine peso fell between 0.1% and 0.2%. Vietnam's economic growth slowed in the first quarter, data showed, owing to sharply lower exports due to weakening global demand.
The Vietnamese dong was broadly unchanged, at about 23,475 to the dollar. In Hong Kong, shares of Alibaba Group soared as much as 16.3% after the Chinese tech firm announced its biggest restructuring yet, by splitting its businesses into six main units.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma also returned to China after a
year-long stay abroad, bolstering confidence in the country's
tech sector, which has been battered following months of
regulatory scrutiny.
Stock markets across Asia gained slightly, with Indonesia , Taiwan and South Korea up between 0.4%
and 1%.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesia's 10-year bond yield up 1.9 bps to
6.821%
** China threatens retaliation if U.S. House speaker meets
Taiwan's president
** Malaysia's central bank maintains its 2023 growth
forecast at 4% to 5%, saying risks remain "fairly balanced"
As of 0732
GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCK
DAILY YTD % DAILY S YTD
% % %
Japan -0.82 -0.63 1.33 6.86
China -0.18 +0.17 -0.16 4.88
India -0.17 +0.47 0.09 -6.29
Indonesia +0.12 +3.31 0.97 -0.36
Malaysia -0.18 -0.14 0.62 -5.19
Philippines -0.04 +2.26 0.42 0.98
S.Korea -0.30 -2.93 0.37 9.28
Singapore -0.20 +0.74 0.24 0.37
Taiwan -0.23 +0.83 0.43 11.54
Thailand -0.12 +0.96 0.12 -3.59
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
