*
Most Asian currencies decline
*
Singapore's March core inflation rises 5%
*
Markets in Malaysia and Indonesia closed for holiday
By Himanshi Akhand
April 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's won and Thailand's
baht led declines among Asian currencies on Monday, while stocks
in the region were largely mixed as investors continued to
remain cautious ahead of major central bank monetary policy
decisions.
The won , Asia's worst performing currency so
far this year, eased 0.4% and the baht declined 0.2%.
Asian markets have largely been subdued for the past few
weeks, with a lack of significant triggers keeping trading
confined to narrow ranges.
"FX is likely to remain range-bound in the near future
as markets are in a period of consolidation ahead of major
central bank policy decisions with the BOJ the first due this
Friday," analysts at Maybank wrote.
The Bank of Japan's policy meeting will mark the first
meeting to be chaired by new Governor Kazuo Ueda.
Ueda is widely expected to maintain the BOJ's current
ultra-easy policy, having reassured markets that any change in
policy won't happen quickly.
Meanwhile, data released on Friday showed U.S. business
activity gathered pace in April, pushing back against concerns
about an impending recession.
Markets will continue to focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve's
open market committee meeting next week, where policymakers are
widely expected to raise rates by another 25 basis points.
Back in Asia, Singapore's dollar weakened 0.1%.
Official data showed that the city-state's key consumer price
gauge rose 5% in March, slightly lower than forecast.
Earlier this month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore
(MAS) left its policy settings unchanged for the first time
since April 2021, reflecting concerns about the growth outlook.
"We expect to see inflation moderate in the coming months
but the MAS may only consider adjusting its policy settings once
inflation is close to or back to target," analysts at ING wrote.
MAS has projected a core inflation rate of between 3.5% to
4.5% in 2023, with headline inflation coming in at between 5.5%
and 6.5%.
Equities in Seoul fell 0.8%. An advance estimate of
the country's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is due
on Tuesday.
Shares in Manila and New Delhi gained 0.9%
and 0.1%, repectively, while markets in Indonesia and Malaysia
were closed for the day.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Indonesia's ruling party endorsed provincial governor
Ganjar Pranowo as its candidate for the presidency
** South Korea will voluntarily join a global stress test on banks, hoping to gain from a thorough analysis of risks they face on an international level
** Taiwan's March industrial production due later today;
prelim Q1 GDP due on Friday
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0417 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan -0.17 -2.43 <.N2 0.22 9.70
25>
China <CNY=CFXS -0.16 -0.06 <.SS -0.15 6.70
> EC>
India +0.01 +0.77 <.NS 0.12 -2.54
EI>
Indonesi - +4.89 <.JK - -0.42
a SE>
Malaysia - -0.79 <.KL - -4.91
SE>
Philippi -0.14 -0.52 <.PS 0.88 0.17
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.43 -5.20 <.KS -0.82 12.83
> 11>
Singapor -0.10 +0.31 <.ST -0.20 1.97
e I>
Taiwan -0.04 +0.24 <.TW 0.04 10.41
II>
Thailand -0.20 +0.26 <.SE 0.03 -6.58
TI>
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali
Paul)
