*
Singapore's March core inflation rises 5%
*
S.Korean won weakens 0.5%
*
Markets in Malaysia, Indonesia closed for holiday
By Himanshi Akhand April 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's won led declines among tepid Asian currencies on Monday, while regional equities flitted in a tight range as investors continued to weigh growth risks and cautious mood prevailed ahead of major central bank monetary policy decisions. The won , Asia's worst-performing currency so far this year, eased 0.5%, and stocks in Seoul fell 0.8%. An advance estimate of the country's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is due on Tuesday. "After the dismal performance of Q4 2022 GDP ... upcoming Q1 2023 GDP looks unable to shake off gloom as external headwinds have grown since then," Vishnu Varathan, an economist at Mizuho Bank wrote in a note. "Even if Q1 growth stays at a resilient pace, it would be prudent to recognise that impending slowdown is looking inevitable."
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, who is widely expected to maintain the BOJ's current ultra-easy policy.
Markets will continue to focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting next week, where policymakers are widely expected to raise rates by another 25 basis points. Back in Asia, Singapore's dollar was 0.1% weaker. Official data showed that the city-state's core inflation rate rose 5% year-on-year in March, slightly lower than the forecast of a 5.1% increase.
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% and
4.5% in 2023.
Shares in Manila gained over 1%, while markets in
Indonesia and Malaysia were closed for the day.
China's yuan dropped 0.1% to its weakest level
in nearly a month, while stocks in Shanghai fell 1% amid
lingering concerns over the sustainability of economic recovery.
HIGHLIGHTS
** The Philippines maintained its growth target for 2023 at
6% to 7%, a government inter-agency panel said
** Thailand's economy is still seen growing at 3.6% this year, the central bank chief said
** Taiwan's March industrial production due later today;
prelim Q1 GDP due on Friday
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0658 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % DAILY YTD %
%
Japan +0.00 -2.27 0.10 9.58
China <CNY=CFXS -0.11 -0.00 -1.09 5.70
>
India +0.07 +0.84 0.06 -2.60
Indonesi - +4.89 - -0.42
a
Malaysia - -0.79 - -4.91
Philippi +0.02 -0.36 1.10 0.40
nes
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.49 -5.27 -0.82 12.84
>
Singapor -0.11 +0.30 -0.12 2.05
e
Taiwan -0.05 +0.24 0.15 10.53
Thailand -0.04 +0.42 -0.02 -6.62
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
