Asian stocks slump, FX range-bound as Taiwan earthquake hits sentiment
Taiwan benchmark index slumps after earthquake; TSMC shares fall
Indonesia rupiah hovers near four-year low
Thai baht set to lose for a third straight session
Updated at 0645 GMT
By Poonam Behura
April 3 (Reuters) -Emerging Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, with Taiwan's benchmark index ending lower after the island witnessed its biggest earthquake in 25 years, while currencies remained under pressure from a sturdy dollar following a strong run of economic data.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Taiwan earlier in the day, prompting tsunami warnings for nearby islands of southern Japan and the Philippines. It also raised concerns about possible disruptions to the vital chip-making industry.
The news sent stocks in Taipei .TWII down 0.6%, from a record high close in the previous session, and weighed on shares of global chipmakers. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co 2330.TW slumped 1.3% after the semiconductor giant said some facilities were evacuated following the quake.
"There have been reports of halts to semiconductor production operations, and if these become more broad-based, we expect some constraints on production, in both Taiwan and the region, that could result in upstream pricing pressures in the chip sector," Barclays analysts said in a client note.
Equities in Seoul .KS11 plunged 1.7% to a two-week low, dragged down by chip and battery stocks. Those in Manila .PSI, Singapore .STI and Jakarta .JKSE fell between 0.7% and 1.2%.
Singapore Telecommunications STEl.SI, Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator, fell nearly 4% after the company confirmed there was no impending deal to divest its Australian telecom unit Optus.
A recent strong run of U.S. economic data releases raised doubts on whether the Federal Reserve will follow through with 75 basis points of rate cuts this year and favoured the dollar.
The dollar index .DXY was last seen steady at 104.78, a touch down from the five-month high of 105.10 hit on Tuesday.
The broad-based dollar strength accentuated the pre-existing downside tendencies in the Japanese yen, Mizuho Bank's Vishnu Varathan said.
The yen JPY=EBS was trading at 151.67 per dollar, hovering near last month's slump to 34-year lows of 151.975 after the Bank of Japan's historic policy shift.
The Philippine peso PHP= slipped 0.3%, while South Korea's won KRW=KFTC edged 0.2% higher. The Indonesian rupiah IDR= depreciated 0.2% to 15,920 per dollar, hovering very close to a four-year low of 16,000.
The cabinet of Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, on Tuesday approved a plan to raise its budget deficit next year despite a worsening fiscal position and higher outflows.
"Government plans to widen the fiscal deficit to 4.4% of GDP in FY2025 from 3.6% won't help with getting back investor confidence," MUFG analysts said. "Tensions between the government and BoT over where the policy rate should be, along with unattractive yields, have reduced the allure of holding the THB."
The Thai baht, among the worst performers in Asia so far this year, has dipped 0.2% and was set for a three-day losing streak, if current trend holds.
Oil prices edged higher on an escalation of geopolitical tensions and a larger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories, raising fears about fiscal stability for net oil importers in Asia. O/R
Among other emerging markets, Chile's central bank cut its key interest rate by 75 basis points to 6.50% on Tuesday, after lowering it by 100 basis points in January. Peso CLP= was unchanged at 973.93 against the U.S. dollar.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Thai business group maintains growth outlook at 2.8%-3.3%, urges stimulus and rate cut
** Taiwan hit by strongest quake in 25 years, four deaths reported
** India cenbank's stance on underlying exposure for FX derivatives unchanged, sources say
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0645 GMT | ||||||
COUNTRY | FX RIC | FX DAILY % | FX YTD % | INDEX | STOCKS DAILY % | STOCKS YTD % |
Japan | JPY= | -0.05 | -6.96 | .N225 | -0.97 | 18.52 |
China | CNY=CFXS | -0.05 | -1.90 | .SSEC | -0.21 | 3.15 |
India | INR=IN | -0.03 | -0.25 | .NSEI | 0.03 | 3.35 |
Indonesia | IDR= | -0.19 | -3.33 | .JKSE | -0.80 | -1.28 |
Malaysia | MYR= | +0.06 | -3.35 | .KLSE | -0.46 | 5.93 |
Philippines | PHP= | -0.28 | -1.86 | .PSI | -1.15 | 6.67 |
S.Korea | KRW=KFTC | +0.24 | -4.51 | .KS11 | -1.68 | 1.95 |
Singapore | SGD= | +0.02 | -2.36 | .STI | -0.65 | -0.43 |
Taiwan | TWD=TP | +0.02 | -4.17 | .TWII | -0.63 | 13.42 |
Thailand | THB=TH | -0.23 | -6.84 | .SETI | -0.09 | -2.65 |
Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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