Southeast Asian stocks low as Indonesian shares plunge


FE Team | Published: August 13, 2018 12:40:19 | Updated: August 15, 2018 10:55:53


SE Asian stocks low as Indonesian shares plunge

Southeast Asian share markets were mostly lower on Monday as Indonesian shares plummeted in their worst drop in nearly two years as emerging market currencies faced a deep selloff.

The Turkish lira and the Indian rupee plunged to all-time lows, while the Indonesian rupiah slid to a near three-year low.

The lira has lost about 45 per cent of its value against the dollar this year, reports Reuters.

The lira's drop unnerved global investors, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shedding as much as 1.6 per cent today.

Indonesian shares slumped more than 3.0 per cent, marking their steepest intraday percentage drop since November 2016.

The rupiah also plunged 0.9 per cent on Monday to its weakest since October 2015, after data showed on Friday the country's current account deficit, a major concern for global emerging market investors, swelled to the largest in nearly four years in the second quarter.

Indonesia's central bank is intervening to defend the rupiah, a senior official said on Monday.

Financials led the losses in the stocks, with Bank Central Asia and Bank Mandiri sliding as much as 3.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively.

The index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks dropped nearly 4 per cent.

Philippines also plunged, by 2 per cent, marking its worst drop since June 22.

SM investments Corp dropped over 2.7 percent, while real estate developer Ayala Land fell 3.6 per cent.

Singapore shares dropped 1.4 per cent to their lowest in nearly four weeks, dragged down largely by financials.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp fell as much as 2.3 per cent while DBS Group Holdings hit a five-week low.

Singapore's economy grew slower than initial estimates in the April-June period on a quarter-on-quarter basis, revised data showed on Monday, as the government flagged a likely moderation in growth in the second half.

Thailand was closed for a holiday.   

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