*
Thai baht top loser in the region
*
All eyes on U.S. CPI
*
Equities in China hit 10-month high
By Navya Mittal May 8 (Reuters) - Asian currencies and shares were mixed on Monday after strong U.S. jobs data crushed hopes of a pause in monetary tightening, with investors gathering focus on upcoming inflation data for more clues on interest rate trends.
The Indonesian rupiah eased 0.2% and the Thai baht weakened 0.5%, leading regional losses, while the Philippine peso and Singapore dollar gained slightly. Markets across the region tracked Friday's Wall Street gains, with equities in Seoul and India rising 0.5% and 1%, respectively.
Shares in Manila reversed its gains and lost 0.3% while the benchmark indexes in Singapore and Indonesia traded sideways.
The robust U.S. payrolls report last week quashed bets the Federal Reserve would pause rate hikes, and any surprise from consumer prices due on Wednesday would further challenge wagers for a rate cut as soon as September.
Forecasts are for a rise of 0.4% in April for both the headline and core CPI, with the annual pace of core inflation likely slowing just a tick away from 5.5%. "We seem to be in the zone for the Fed to pause but rate cut expectations based on Fed Fund Futures could be aggressive at this point," analysts at Maybank wrote in a note. "This could suggest that some support on dips for the USD even as we expect the greenback to grind lower," the note added.
Also on investors' minds is the Fed's banking survey results due later in the day as the world's largest economy continues to face turmoil in the sector. In the Philippines, the central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate to 6.25% in its inflation battle.
But with inflation on track to settle within the government's 2-4% target in the fourth quarter and with prices easing further in April, more factors are in place for a pause in the country's 10-month tightening cycle. Stocks in Thailand rose 1%, leading gains among its Southeast Asian peers, while the baht posted its sharpest fall in more than a month.
Voters in Thailand cast early ballots in elections which could upset the status quo of a conservative pro-military government led by former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha who is trailing far behind opponents in recent opinion polls. Equities in China hit a 10-month high as the country's services activity grew but at a slower pace on Friday. The country's trade and inflation data for April is due this week, which is likely to show that exports have risen again, though at a slower pace than a month earlier amid looming global growth slowdown, a Reuters poll showed. Analysts at Barclays expect consumer prices to decline further and export growth to ease, suggesting that growth momentum may have weakened in the second quarter after peaking in the previous three months.
Highlights
** IMF to wrap up Pakistan bailout review once financing in
place
** Japan's service activity grows at record pace in April -
PMI
** Chinese scour Thailand for homes, looking to offset risks
after pandemic Asia stock indexes and
currencies at 0620 GMT
COUNTR FX RIC FX FX IND STOC STOC
Y DAILY YTD EX KS KS
% % DAIL YTD
Y % %
Japan +0.12 -2.6 <.N -0.7 12.5
4 225 1 7
>
China <CNY=CF -0.09 -0.2 <.S 1.84 9.92
XS> 1 SEC
>
India <INR=IN +0.05 +1.1 <.N 0.95 0.75
> 7 SEI
>
Indone -0.24 +5.8 <.J -0.0 -0.9
sia 5 KSE 2 4
>
Malays +0.00 -0.7 <.K 0.06 -4.2
ia 9 LSE 5
>
Philip +0.04 +0.7 <.P -0.2 1.54
pines 2 SI> 7
S.Kore <KRW=KF +0.15 -4.2 <.K 0.46 12.3
a TC> 6 S11 4
>
Singap +0.02 +1.1 <.S -0.1 0.34
ore 7 TI> 3
Taiwan <TWD=TP -0.06 +0.1 <.T 0.47 11.0
> 6 WII 5
>
Thaila <THB=TH -0.52 +2.0 <.S 1.04 -7.1
nd > 7 ETI 5
>
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline
Wong and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
