BENGALURU- Most Asian currencies were largely unchanged on Friday despite a weaker dollar, while stock markets were set for weekly gains as soft US labor market data buoyed expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.
The South Korean won was muted after strengthening 0.2 percent earlier, while the Singapore dollar inched 0.1 percent higher.
The Indonesian rupiah rose 0.2 percent while the Taiwanese dollar edged 0.1 percent lower.
Most equities in the region were trading higher amid the prospect of US rate cuts for September.
Investors awaited US payrolls data, due later in the day, to further assess the rate outlook.
Traders are now pricing in a 73 percent chance of a rate cut in September, up from about 66 percent a week earlier.
South Korean stocks led the gains amid emerging Asian equities, rising as much as 1.7 percent to their highest levels since January 2022.
The benchmark index was lifted by an upbeat performance in Samsung Electronics after the multi-national electronics company estimated a more than 15-fold rise in its second-quarter operating profit.
Stocks in Indonesia gained 0.8 percent and were set for a 2.7 percent weekly rise, while Taiwan equities climbed 0.5 percent to scale a record high ahead of country’s June inflation data.
Traders await monetary policy decisions in South Korea and Malaysia next week, as well as China’s June inflation and Singapore’s first-quarter economic growth estimates.
The Thai baht was largely flat after country’s headline consumer price index rose 0.62 percent , against the central bank’s target range of 1 percent to 3 percent . Thailand shares were up 0.6 percent after the data, set for their first weekly gain in seven weeks.
The Thai government has been at loggerheads with the central bank for months over interest rates, with Thailand Prime Minister SretthaThavisin calling for a rate cut to kick-start the economy.
Bank of Thailand Chief SethaputSuthiwartnarueput said on Thursday there is no need to cut interest rates despite the country’s slow economic recovery.
