* China trims 1-yr lending rate, leaves 5-yr unchanged * Thailand's Q2 GDP grows below forecast * Rupiah leads losses in the region By Navya Mittal Aug 21 (Reuters) - Asian currencies edged lower on Monday with Indonesia's rupiah leading losses after China delivered a smaller-than-expected cut to lending rates, disappointing markets, while the Thai economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace. The Indonesian rupiah depreciated 0.3% while the Thai baht appreciated 0.2%. The Malaysian and Singaporean currencies fell marginally. Ken Cheng, chief Asia FX strategist at Mizuho Bank, said the mild rate cuts in China were "negative news" as the cuts may not be very effective in supporting the economy, meaning the continuation of softening growth momentum would dampen the outlook for the whole of Asia. China's stocks and currency lost 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, after its central bank trimmed its one-year lending rate by 10 basis points and left its five-year rate unmoved, a surprise to analysts who had expected cuts of 15 basis points to both. "No cut on 5-year LPR (loan prime rate) is a big surprise and this may further lead to lower expectation on the cut of existing mortgage rate, given no rate cut on 5-year LPR already indicated the big NIM (net interest margin) pressure the banks are facing," said Willer Chen, research analyst at Forsyth Barr Asia. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian economies have been showing signs of weakness, growing at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter on a slowdown in global demand. In Thailand, the government trimmed its 2023 gross domestic product growth outlook to between 2.5% and 3.0% from 2.7% to 3.7%. "The weakness components in the Q2 GDP reports ... are pretty much widely expected by analysts that these figures would be quite bad. So even with worse-than-expected data, it didn't affect THB that much," said Poon Panichpibool, markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is due to vote for a new prime minister on Tuesday in a bid to end months of political deadlock following a May election. "The incoming parliamentary vote on the new PM could potentially cause more volatility for Thai assets, foreign fund flows and ultimately the THB since it might not go as smooth as it should be," Poon added. Most stocks in the region traded sideways, with the benchmark Philippine index leading losses, falling more than 1.2%. Shares in Singapore lost 0.5% while equities in Jakarta and Malaysia were both up more than 0.1%. HIGHLIGHTS ** Most Thais oppose plan for Pheu Thai-military coalition government - poll ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are up 6.1 basis points at 6.553% ** Japan's core inflation eases, bolstering view BOJ will stand pat Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0350 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD X S S YTD % % DAILY % % Japan -0.03 -9.8 <.N2 0.78 23.21 3 25> China6 EC> India +0.02 -0.4 <.NS 0.00 6.65 4 EI> Indones -0.26 +1.6 <.JK 0.17 0.30 ia 0 SE> Malaysi -0.11 -5.3 <.KL 0.14 -3.17 a 8 SE> Philipp -0.25 -1.0 <.PS -1.17 -4.21 ines 8 I> S.Korea 0 11> Singapo -0.07 -1.3 <.ST -0.45 -2.82 re 2 I> Taiwan -0.03 -3.8 <.TW -0.03 15.84 9 II> Thailan +0.24 -2.0 <.SE -0.07 -9.03 d 8 TI> (Editing by Robert Birsel)
End-of-day quote
Other stock markets
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5-day change | 1st Jan Change | ||
16.7 THB | -0.60% | -0.60% | -9.24% |
Apr. 23 | Thai PM asks banks to top lower interest rates to help economy | RE |
Apr. 19 | Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited Reports Earnings Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2024 | CI |
Stocks mentioned in the article
Price
|
Change
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5d. change
|
Capi.
| ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2,713 PTS | -1.22% | -1.11% | - | ||
715.7 USD | +0.95% | +1.73% | - | ||
193.8 JPY | +0.17% | -1.61% | - | ||
166.7 JPY | +0.20% | -0.92% | - | ||
155.2 JPY | +0.30% | -1.59% | - | ||
112.9 JPY | +0.18% | -1.39% | - | ||
102 JPY | +0.04% | -0.13% | - | ||
92.9 JPY | +0.11% | +0.20% | - | ||
16.7 THB | -0.60% | -0.60% | 6.39B | ||
7.224 CNY | +0.09% | -0.22% | - | ||
1.858 JPY | +0.28% | -1.64% | - | ||
EPS Revisions
1st Jan change | Capi. | |
---|---|---|
-9.24% | 6.39B | |
+12.73% | 551B | |
+12.38% | 295B | |
+13.87% | 249B | |
+22.43% | 210B | |
+13.55% | 170B | |
+20.47% | 169B | |
+12.13% | 165B | |
+3.47% | 144B | |
-11.88% | 139B |
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