*
Indonesia Q1 GDP +5.03% y/y, vs 4.95% in poll; shares down
1.5%
*
Philippine April CPI rise lowest since Aug 2022; peso up
0.3%
*
Markets in Thailand and South Korea closed
By Harish Sridharan May 5 (Reuters) - Asian currencies ticked up against a weaker dollar, while shares were largely weaker on Friday as investor jitters persisted amid fresh turmoil in the U.S. banking sector. Much like the rest of the week, shares of U.S. regional banks sank overnight on fears of a financial sector crisis. The dollar index was last down 0.138% at 101.120. Malaysia's ringgit rose 0.3% on returning from holiday, buoyed by Bank Negara Malaysia's unexpected rate hike on Wednesday and in reaction to the Fed's policy statement signalling that it may pause further interest rate hikes. Most other currencies were slightly up.
Stocks in Jakarta declined 1.5% even as Indonesia's economy grew faster-than-expected in the first quarter. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 5.03% from a year earlier versus a 4.95% expansion that was predicted in a Reuters poll.
The rupiah was flat. Yield on the 10-year benchmark bond slipped further to 6.404% - its lowest level since January 2022.
Indonesia's post-pandemic recovery has been helped by a commodities-led export boom, though analysts expect a slowdown in growth as commodity prices ease and policy tightening globally and domestically hits demand. "We think the economy is set to struggle over the coming quarters. (But) on the plus side, the sharp fall in inflation.. will boost the purchasing power of households," said Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics. Bank Indonesia has paused tightening in the past three months and some economists expect it to keep interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year. Central banks in Asia have taken different monetary policy paths in recent months, as they deal with diverse inflation and economic growth factors. In the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has raised its benchmark interest rate to 6.25% in its fight against inflation.
But with inflation slowing, the central bank now has some leeway to pause its 10-month tightening cycle. Annual inflation eased for a third successive month in April, and is on track to settle within the government's 2% to 4% target in the fourth quarter, according to data released on Friday.
The BSP said that it remains committed to adjusting its monetary policy stance as necessary to prevent further broadening of price pressures. The peso gained 0.3%. "Slowing inflation and a relatively stable currency could be enough to convince Governor (Felipe) Medalla to bring his recent tightening cycle to an end," said Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING.
"Today's report increases the chances for a pause from the BSP at the May 18," he said. China shares were down 0.7%, even as China's service activity grew for a fourth straight month in April.
Markets in Thailand, South Korea and Japan were closed.
HIGHLIGHTS
** Thailand records 8.6 mln foreign tourist arrivals in
Jan-April
** Marcos says U.S. access to Philippines bases not meant
for 'offensive action'
** China's services activity expands as consumers return -
Caixin PMI
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0354 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDEX STOCK STOCK
DAILY YTD % S S YTD
% DAILY %
%
Japan +0.19 -2.16 - 11.74
China +0.06 -0.12 -0.71 7.68
India +0.00 +1.12 -0.76 0.07
Indonesia +0.02 +6.09 -1.46 -1.55
Malaysia +0.32 -0.81 0.09 -4.56
Philippines +0.25 +0.80 0.08 1.88
S.Korea - -4.41 - 11.83
Singapore +0.23 +1.12 -0.19 0.35
Taiwan +0.09 +0.23 0.00 10.41
Thailand - +2.35 - -8.11
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
