* Indonesia stocks at highest since May 28
* Indonesian rupiah falls after four straight sessions of
gains
* Malaysia and South Korea policy decisions on Thursday
By Ayushman Ojha
July 9 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies edged lower on
Tuesday while regional stocks were mixed as global markets
awaited comments from the head of the U.S. central bank to
assess prospects of a rate cut in September.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will appear before Congress later in
the day, with investors hoping for dovish comments that will
cement their bets that it will start to lower borrowing costs in
a few months, giving a fresh leg up to riskier assets and
economies.
Despite a softer U.S. dollar, the Indonesian rupiah
was down as much as 0.4% after four consecutive sessions of
gains, while the Taiwanese dollar lost 0.2%.
The Thai baht inched 0.1% lower, while the
Singapore dollar was largely flat.
The South Korean won and the Malaysian ringgit
were largely unchanged. Interest rate decisions from both
countries are due on Thursday.
Bank Negara Malaysia bank will keep its key policy rate on
hold until at least 2026 as inflation looks set to pick up in
the second half of this year, a Reuters poll showed.
Another poll showed that the Bank of Korea will hold rates
on Thursday, but was expected to ease in the next quarter.
"Currency weakness will remain the key constraint for these
central banks in thinking about cutting interest rates ahead of
the Fed," said Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank.
On the other hand, the Philippine central bank has more
scope to cut interest rates at its next meeting in August after
annual inflation slowed in June, its Governor Eli Remolona said.
The next U.S. inflation report, due on Thursday, could
further bolster rate easing expectations. Markets are now
pricing in a 80% chance of a cut in September, up from 64% last
week. FEDWATCH
Indonesian shares rose as much as 0.7% to their
highest level since May 28, while Singapore stocks gained
0.4%, still hovering near their record high touched last week.
The rally in Singapore shares is being driven by local bank
stocks hitting record highs due to investor optimism about
dividend payouts and higher-for-longer interest rates in the
U.S. and Singapore, MUFG's Chan added.
Shares in Kuala Lumpur gained as much as 0.4%, while
Taiwan shares and Thai stocks fell 0.3% and
0.2%, respectively, bucking the trend.
Markets are also awaiting China's inflation data on
Wednesday and advanced gross domestic product estimates from
Singapore on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Thailand central bank head says stronger growth needed
** Japan finance minister to monitor discussions at BOJ bond
market meeting
Asia
stock
indexes
and
currenc
ies at
0455
GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK
DAILY YTD % X S S YTD
% DAILY %
%
Japan -0.07 -12.3 <.N2 2.08 24.40
5 25>
China EC>
India +0.00 -0.34 <.NS 0.16 12.10
EI>
Indones -0.11 -5.37 <.JK 0.50 0.20
ia SE>
Malaysi -0.04 -2.53 <.KL 0.34 11.13
a SE>
Philipp +0.15 -5.24 <.PS 0.23 1.46
ines I>
S.Korea 11>
Singapo +0.01 -2.26 <.ST 0.40 5.48
re I>
Taiwan -0.14 -5.55 <.TW -0.32 32.74
II>
Thailan -0.10 -6.20 <.SE -0.20 -6.78
d TI>
(Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim
Coghill)