Manila stocks jump on rate cut hopes; currencies muted as US election looms

Reuters

Manila stocks jump on rate cut hopes; currencies muted as US election looms

5 نوفمبر 2024 الساعة 32:7 صباحاً بتوقيت GMT

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Recasts and updates with new moves

Philippine CPI below estimates

Thai stocks led by Delta Electronics

Expect baht to regain in Dec - analyst

By Rishav Chatterjee and Adwitiya Srivastava

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Philippine stocks rallied on Tuesday after the country's quickening inflation signalled a sustained cycle of policy easing, while most emerging Asia currencies were muted ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

Shares in Manila .PSI gained up to 1.2%, set for their strongest session since mid-October while stocks in Thailand .SETI climbed 0.9%, led by gains in power supplies manufacturer Delta Electronics.

Data on Tuesday showed, Philippine's consumer price index rose 2.3% in October from 1.9% reported the previous month and was belowthe 2.4% forecast in a Reuters poll.

This gives the central bank more room to maintain its policy easing cycleafter it cut the benchmark interest rate by25 basis points last month, for the second time this year. The peso was trading flat against the greenback.

"Inflation is expected to remain below 3.0% for the rest of the year, and much of the firsthalf of 2025, paving the wayfor another 25 bps rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas," saidanalysts at Citi.

Bangkok stocks hit their highest since late October, led by Delta ElectronicsDELTA.BK, which jumped 7.5% to a record high.

"So without a positive impact from Delta, I think the Thai market won't see a significant rally which should be in line with other Asia markets as market players are in defensive, wait-and-see mode until the U.S. election results come in," Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank.

The Thai baht THB=TH,among the few Southeast Asian currencies which have gained since the start of the year, was trading 0.3% higher.

"Over medium to long-term, I still expect baht to regain some strength, especiallyin December and early Q1/2025 due to the highseason of foreign tourists and potential return of foreign fund flows back into the Thaicapital market," Panichpibool said.

Currency markets in emerging Asia were mostly muted, with investors in a wait-and-see mode until it becomes clear who will win the U.S. presidential election.

The Malaysian ringgit MYR= added 0.3% while the Indonesian rupiah was flat.

Shares in Jakarta .JKSE and Mumbai .NSEI were trading 0.2% and 0.6% lower.

HIGHLIGHTS

** Indonesia's Q3 GDPgrowth at 4.95% y/y

** China, HK stocks rise on signs of economic improvement

Asia stocks and currencies as at 0644 GMT
COUNTRY	FX RIC	FX DAILY %	FX YTD %	INDEX	STOCKS DAILY %	STOCKS YTD %
Japan	JPY=	-0.15	-7.42	.N225	1.32%	15.83%
China	CNY=CFXS	-0.07	-0.11	.SSEC	2.14	13.65
India	INR=IN	-0.01	-1.08	.NSEI	-0.52	9.84
Indonesia	IDR=	-0.03	-2.28	.JKSE	-0.17	2.67
Malaysia	MYR=	+0.29	+5.34	.KLSE	0.12	11.25
Philippines	PHP=	+0.07	-5.09	.PSI	1.23	12.00
S.Korea	KRW=KFTC	-0.30	-6.57	.KS11	-0.47	-2.95
Singapore	SGD=	+0.09	+0.05	.STI	0.11	10.36
Taiwan	TWD=TP	-0.68	-4.49	.TWII	0.62	28.87
Thailand	THB=TH	+0.30	+1.56	.SETI	0.82	4.18