BENGALURU- Singapore’s Straits Times Index has risen 1.3 percent last week and posted its fourth consecutive weekly gains, driven by strong earnings from United Overseas Bank and Singapore Airlines, and positive sentiment surrounding the 2025 budget.
The index, however, traded flat on Friday, a move mirrored by the local currency
Elsewhere in the region, Philippine stocks gained as much as 0.7 percent, while stocks in Jakarta inched 0.1 percent lower.
Taiwanese stocks closed 1 percent higher, rising more than 2 percent for the week in their best gain of the year so far.
Meanwhile, Asian currencies struggled for a clear direction on Friday, with Malaysia’s ringgit rising the most in the region, while stocks rose as investors digested US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats as mere rhetoric.
Some traders view the impact of Trump’s tariffs on global economic growth as temporary, with new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports delayed, while a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports and levies on global steel and aluminum have been implemented.
The ringgit rose 0.3 percent to a two-week high against the US dollar, while the Indonesian rupiah which has been the region’s worst performing currency so far in 2025, gained as much as 0.3 percent.
The MSCI gauge of emerging market currencies climbed 0.2 percent, hitting its highest in more than three months.
The US dollar index which measures the currency against six major counterparts, touched its lowest for 2025 at 106.29 on Thursday and was last at 106.54.
The dollar was set for a third weekly drop in a row as bulls who had built up big long positions in anticipation of a trade war have backed off while Trump equivocates about tariffs.
Markets appear to have become overall immune to tariff headlines, waiting for a firmer plan, which is now expected to come closer to April, analysts at Barclays said in a note.
“Risk sentiment among the EM investors seemed to have turned better this week, but we wait for more clarity for a more fundamental recovery,” Barclays said.
