BENGALURU- The Indonesian rupiah rose for an eighth straight day on Friday, a rally that last occurred in September 2016, on easing concerns over its debt and fiscal policies, while Singapore equities hit a more-than-six-year high on accelerating economic growth.
Stocks in Indonesia Philippines and Singapore though, added 0.4 percent , 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
They rose alongside global equities after an unexpected drop in US consumer prices boosted the odds of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in September to over 90 percent , from 74 percent two days back, according to CME FedWatch.
The rupiah gained 0.3 percent against the US dollar, while Indonesian stocks were up 0.4 percent .
Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto has moved to dial down investor’s concerns by planning to maintain the status quo on the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, his adviser told Reuters on Thursday.
That plan “is helping the rupiah sentiment into more of a positive side,” said Fakhrul Fulvian, an economist at Trimegah Securities.
The Malaysian ringgit rose as much as 0.5 percent to a six-month high on the day and was set for its seventh consecutive session of gains, its longest rally since January this year.
The move in the ringgit, the best-performing Southeast Asia currency this year, comes a day after the country’s central bank indicated it was in no hurry to ease rates this year.
“Bank Negara Malaysia maintained its assessment of continued global growth amid a resilient job market, global tech upcycle and trade recovery that cushion the impact of tight monetary policy,” analysts at Maybank said.
Malaysian shares however, dropped 0.3 percent .
Singapore stocks also got a lift from data showing the city-state’s second-quarter economic growth accelerated due to a rebound in manufacturing.
“A manufacturing rebound, led by the electronics sector, is broadening the growth recovery,” Maybank analysts said in a note, raising their full-year growth estimate for the country.
Stocks in South Korea and Taiwan bucked the trend, dropping 1.2 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.
