(Oct 29): Most emerging Asian stocks fell while the Indonesian rupiah and the Malaysian ringgit led the decline in regional currencies due to a firm dollar on Tuesday, as investors exercised caution ahead of the hotly contested US presidential election.
The dollar is headed for its best month in two-and-a-half years as investors reined in their rate cut expectations and the markets braced for a potential win next week for Donald Trump, whose measures could pressure Asian currencies further.
“The election outcome is still too close to call and investors would probably want to see the results of the elections before making a further move on whether to adjust their position,” said Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist at Bank of Singapore.
The rupiah fell as much as 0.4%, hitting its lowest level in more than two months. The currency has fallen nearly 4% against the dollar this month, and is on track for its weakest month since March 2020.
Malaysian ringgit lost as much as 0.3% to its lowest level since Sept 3, and was set to log its biggest monthly fall since November 2016.
The Thai baht has declined 5.2% against the dollar so far in October, while the Singapore dollar is heading for its weakest month since November 2016.
“If Trump wins, there would be further depreciatory pressure on Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) FX, particularly SGD, MYR, and THB,” wrote Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG.
“IDR would also be under pressure in a period of sustained US dollar strength and high-for-longer US rates.”
The South Korean won pared some gains after having risen as much as 0.5% earlier in the day, following a local media report that a voting board member of the central bank was not worried about dollar liquidity after the won’s weakness this year.
The currency was trading almost flat as of 0641 GMT.
Shares in Seoul inched 0.2% higher while Taiwan equities dropped as much as 2.1% to their lowest in nearly three weeks as investors awaited earnings from US mega-cap companies such as Alphabet and Apple.
“Investors are concerned about valuations, given that the US tech stocks have rallied quite substantially, and the tension between US and China could possibly go up depending on the US election outcome,” Siong said.
Elsewhere, Manila stocks lost 1.5%, hitting their lowest level in more than a month, while Thai shares gained 0.2%.
Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja
