*
Indonesian rupiah at more than two-month high
*
Stocks in Thailand break three-day winning run
*
U.S. inflation reading in spotlight
By Navya Mittal April 12 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stocks and currencies traded in a tight range on Wednesday as market participants braced for a key U.S inflation report that is set to set to influence the Federal Reserve's stance on further rate hikes. The Indonesian rupiah and Thailand's baht rose 0.2% each, outperforming other currencies in the region. The Malaysian ringgit and Singapore's dollar inched higher, while the Philippine peso slipped 0.2%. Stock markets across the region tracked Wall Street lower, with Manila and Thailand leading the declines. "Market is in a wait-and-see mode ahead of US CPI (data) tonight... Any upside surprise in the CPI print may flatten the (UST yield) curve back," OCBC analyst said in a note. Markets are currently pricing in a nearly 74% chance of a 25 basis-point rate hike at the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting in May, while also betting on rate cuts before year-end. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its global growth outlook for this year. It warned that lurking financial system vulnerabilities could erupt into a new crisis and slam global growth this year, but urged member countries to keep tightening monetary policies to fight persistently high inflation. In Southeast Asia, the rupiah hit a more than two-month high after an Indonesia court overturned a lower court's order to delay the 2024 national elections by two years, easing political uncertainty in the world's third-largest democracy.
Fakhrul Fulvian, an economist at Trimegah Securities, said the currency's appreciation is likely to continue after the U.S. data, and expects Indonesia's economy to grow by 5% in 2023. Equities in Singapore fell 0.4% ahead of a monetary policy meeting. According to a Reuters poll, the city-state's economy likely expanded at a slower pace in the first quarter, with expectations that the central bank will make no changes to monetary policy. Jeff Ng, a senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank, said Singapore could see this year's slowest growth in the first quarter. Growth will gradually pick up as the year progresses, with the base effect also turning more favourable, he added. Shares in Thailand snapped a three-session winning streak, falling 0.6%, even as the country's central bank said the economy has returned to pre-pandemic levels and is continuing to grow.
Highlights
** High Philippine inflation dents Marcos' approval ratings
** Indonesia's benchmark 10-year yield fell nearly 4 basis
points to 6.63%
** IMF trims India's growth forecast to 5.9% for current fiscal year
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0615 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan -0.06 -1.96 <.N2 0.66 9.26
25>
China <CNY=CFXS -0.03 +0.18 <.SS 0.28 7.56
> EC>
India +0.09 +0.81 <.NS 0.23 -1.89
EI>
Indonesi +0.21 +4.81 <.JK -0.28 -0.86
a SE>
Malaysia +0.09 -0.27 <.KL -0.19 -4.16
SE>
Philippi -0.18 +0.94 <.PS -0.60 -1.91
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.23 -4.59 <.KS 0.02 13.95
> 11>
Singapor +0.05 +0.60 <.ST -0.40 1.03
e I>
Taiwan -0.10 +0.66 <.TW 0.12 12.70
II>
Thailand +0.20 +1.16 <.SE -0.63 -4.89
TI>
($1 = 14,847.0000 rupiah) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Subhranshu Sahu)
