Currencies and equities in emerging Asia traded in a tight range on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious over tariff developments and assessed Chinese economic data pointing to underlying weakness in the region’s biggest economy.
Indonesia’s rupiah slipped to a near three-week low, while equities pared early gains to trade slightly up. The Malaysian ringgit, the Philippine peso, Singapore’s dollar and Taiwan’s dollar also edged lower.
South Korea’s won and the Indian rupee held steady near their previous session’s close.
Asian currencies were in a tentative mood on Tuesday, said Jeff Ng, head of Asia macro strategy, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, adding that investors were awaiting further clarity on trade tariffs.
China reported second-quarter economic growth that beat market estimates but fell short of the prior quarter’s pace. While the economy has so far avoided a sharp slowdown, markets are bracing for a weaker second half as U.S. tariffs weigh on exports.
One of the key focal points during trade talks between the United States and trade partners have been levies on trans-shipments as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to curb China’s trade penetration in the region.
“We think (China’s) exports could slow visibly in H2, likely to close to zero in H2, especially if other countries start cracking down on transshipments under U.S. pressure,” Barclays analysts led by Yingke Zhou said in a client note.
The Shanghai Composite index fell 1% to a one-week low, while the blue-chip CSI300 Index shed early gain to slip 0.5%. The Chinese yuan drifted lower against the U.S. dollar.
Equity markets in emerging Asia were mixed: Singapore’s stocks extended their recent rally, nudging higher to set an all-time high for the tenth consecutive day.
Stock markets in Indonesia and Thailand edged higher, while those in Malaysia and the Philippines slipped 0.4% each.
In Indonesia, analysts are divided ahead of Bank Indonesia’s interest rate decision on Wednesday. A Reuters poll showed 15 of 29 economics expect the central bank to cut its key borrowing rate by 25 basis points.
In East Asia, Taiwan’s benchmark index, dominated by semiconductor firms, rose 0.6% to recoup losses from Monday, while South Korea’s KOSPI slipped lower.
An MSCI index of equities in emerging Asia ticked higher.
Asian stock markets have rebounded sharply from their April slump, reaching multi-week highs as investors bet that the worst tariff scenarios are unlikely to materialize and that the duties won’t trigger a U.S. recession or severely impact corporate earnings.
