(.) * South Korean won loses most * Philippines peso only outlier * Most Asian equities trade in red By Archishma Iyer Dec 5 (Reuters) – The South Korean won led losses among weak Asian currencies on Tuesday, and equities were subdued, after traders recalibrated interest rate cut bets from the U.S. Federal Reserve as they awaited a key jobs report. The South Korean won slipped as much as 0.8% to end at 1311.20 per dollar, hitting a near three-week low, while the Indonesian rupiah edged about 0.3% lower. The U.S. non-farm payrolls data – a key labour market report – and the non-manufacturing ISM data for November are expected during the week, which market participants will look to for further clarity on interest rates. Investors are currently expecting the Fed to cut interest rates by the first half of next year. At 0650 GMT, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against six major currencies, was steady at 103.61. “As such, there is ample space for the market to pare back on rate cut expectations and this could keep the USD supported,” analysts from Maybank wrote. “We still believe that the USD is a sell on rally, however the road to a weaker USD could be bumpy,” they added. Other Asian currencies like the Malaysian ringgit and Taiwan dollar traded 0.1% and 0.2% lower, while the Indian rupee and the Singapore dollar were flat. The Philippines peso was the only outlier in the region, rising about 0.3%. Separately, inflation data in South Korea and Philippines came in cooler than expected even as their central banks maintained hawkish biases, concerned about the risk of persistently higher price pressures in the near future. Analysts from Barclays expect both central banks to start cutting rates by the fourth quarter of 2024, while expecting the Fed to start slashing rates only by December next year. The Bank of Korea had stood pat on its interest rates at its meeting last week, while the Philippines’ central bank is set to host its policy meeting next week. Among Asian equities, shares in Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea and China traded between 0.2% and 1.1% lower. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Indonesia’s benchmark 10-year bond yield falls to 6.602% ** Inflation in Japan’s capital slows in November ** Turkish cenbank total reserves hit record high of $140 bln – bankers Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0650 GMT Japan +0.27 -10.69 -1.37 25.60 China -0.04 -3.45 -1.17 -3.29 India -0.02 -0.79 0.44 14.76 Indonesia -0.29 +0.45 -0.13 3.42 Malaysia -0.11 -5.58 -0.35 -3.32 Philippines +0.23 +0.61 -0.18 -4.46 S.Korea -0.55 -3.56 -0.82 11.53 Singapore -0.04 +0.12 -0.36 -5.48 Taiwan -0.24 -2.48 -0.54 22.57 Thailand +0.09 -1.75 0.23 -17.09 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
