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Stocks in China, Hong Kong fall on weak imports figures
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U.S. inflation data expected at 12:30 GMT
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Malaysia set to report GDP data on Friday
By Mehr Bedi May 10 (Reuters) - Asian currencies and equities adopted a wait-and-watch approach on Wednesday ahead of a critical U.S. inflation print due later in the day, hoping to draw clues on the direction of future interest rates. Investors are keeping their eyes peeled for April U.S. consumer price data expected at 1230 GMT and economists expect the headline CPI to hold steady at an annual 5% and core CPI to moderate very slightly to 5.5%, though anything stickier could confound bets interest rates will fall. The Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso both weakened 0.1% each, while the Thai baht and Singapore dollar added 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. "We can expect further consolidation in USD/Asia within the familiar trading ranges of late," said UOB Group analysts in a note. However, some analysts noted that participants in the local markets were watchful of developments in Washington, which is grappling with the possibility of government default as early as June 1 if the Congress fails to resolve the U.S. debt ceiling deadlock.
Failure to raise the limit would cause a huge hit to the U.S. economy and weaken the dollar as the world's reserve currency, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Monday. Meanwhile, equities in China and Hong Kong slid after April's weak import figures reinforced signs of feeble domestic demand despite the lifting of COVID-19 curbs. An apparent crackdown on due diligence firms also unnerved investors. The Shanghai SE Composite Index fell 1.1%, while the Hong Kong benchmark index was off 0.5% "We think markets remain concerned around the durability of recovery momentum and the latest data points have added to those concerns," Duncan Tan, Rates Strategist at DBS Group Research said. Investors also are on the watch for Malaysia's gross domestic product data, set to be released on Friday. According to a Reuters Poll, economists forecast the South Asian economy's growth slowed in the first quarter, hit by tepid consumption and declining exports. The Malaysian ringgit weakened 0.1% on Wednesday, while stocks were 0.4% lower.
HIGHLIGHTS:
India inflation expected to hit 18-month low in April,
according to Reuters Poll Southeast Asian leaders meeting in Indonesia for ASEAN
summit called for an immediate end to hostilities in
military-ruled Myanmar South Korea's current account balance in March ended a
two-month run of deficit to post a surplus COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan -0.08 -3.11 <.N2 -0.34 11.68
25>
China <CNY=CFXS -0.12 -0.41 <.SS -1.01 7.59
> EC>
India -0.03 +0.80 <.NS -0.08 0.81
EI>
Indonesi -0.19 +5.50 <.JK 0.37 -0.67
a SE>
Malaysia -0.09 -1.15 <.KL -0.36 -4.55
SE>
Philippi -0.05 -0.25 <.PS 0.47 1.33
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.02 -4.51 <.KS -0.81 11.33
> 11>
Singapor -0.02 +0.93 <.ST -0.02 -0.27
e I>
Taiwan -0.06 -0.04 <.TW -0.78 10.37
II>
Thailand +0.04 +2.67 <.SE 0.37 -5.88
TI>
(Reporting by Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
