*
Philippine peso reverses losses, stocks extend gains
*
Philippine central bank cuts rates by 25 bps to 4.50%
*
South Korea, Taiwan stocks fall on AI profitability fears
(Updates with afternoon trade moves and Philippine cenbank
decision)
By Shivangi Lahiri
Dec 11 (Reuters) - The Philippine peso reversed earlier
losses and shares extended gains after the central bank
signalled it was done easing for the near term, while other
regional assets were mixed as markets parsed dovish comments by
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The Philippine peso inched higher 0.1% after the
announcement, while stocks were up 0.5%.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut its key policy
rate for the fifth straight time by 25 basis points to a
three-year low of 4.50%.
"On balance, the Monetary Board sees the monetary policy
easing cycle nearing its end," the central bank said in a
statement, adding that any further easing would be limited and
guided by incoming data.
The peso may see mild, temporary pressure from easier
policy, but with inflation deeply anchored and the Fed already
cutting rates last night, the relative rate differential isn't
as punitive as before, said Mohit Mirpuri, a fund manager at
SGMC Capital.
OCBC's senior ASEAN economist Lavanya Venkateswaran foresees
a prolonged pause in the BSP easing cycle, with no further cuts
expected in 2026.
Elsewhere, stocks in Jakarta were trading down 0.5%
after touching a record high earlier in the day, while equities
in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur rose 0.4% and 0.6%,
respectively.
Stocks in Seoul and Taipei declined 0.6% and
1.3%, respectively, after cloud computing giant Oracle's
disappointing earnings sounded a warning for AI
profitability, triggering a pullback in the two tech-heavy Asian
indexes.
Among currencies in the region, Malaysia's ringgit
rose 0.3% after three straight sessions of losses, while the
Singapore dollar was marginally lower against a weaker
U.S. dollar.
The greenback was on the back foot after the Fed's
25-basis-point rate cut and Powell's comments at his
post-meeting press conference were perceived as less hawkish
than expected, firming bets of two more rate cuts next year.
Steven Dooley, head of market insights at Convera, said
rising odds of a rate cut in early 2026 would boost global
liquidity and help emerging Asian assets "play catch-up".
Stocks in Thailand were down 1.2% as trading resumed
after a holiday on Wednesday, while the baht was flat.
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its fourth
day as both sides waited for a promised telephone call from U.S.
President Donald Trump.
($1 = 4.1050 ringgit)
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Japan's government reportedly plans new tax breaks despite
debt concerns
** Mexico's Senate passes tariff hikes on Chinese, other Asian
imports
** Hong Kong central bank cuts interest rate, tracking Fed move
** China warns Mexico's new tariffs will hurt trade partners
Asia stock
indexes and
currencies at
0725 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY FX YTD INDEX STOCK STOCK
% % S S YTD
DAILY %
%
Japan +0.06 +0.81 China >
India -0.39 -5.21 Indones +0.03 -3.51 Malaysi +0.27 +8.84 Philipp +0.11 -1.61 0.50 -8.25
ines
S.Korea >
Singapo -0.10 +5.50 0.38 19.58
re
Taiwan -0.16 +4.87 Thailan 0.00 +8.07 5
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
Print
