Blast hits rupiah, other monies up<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
Most Asian currencies kicked off the week on a stronger note,
\nalthough the Indonesian rupiah was jolted by a bomb explosion in
\nthe country's parliament building.<\/p>\n
But the rupiah's weakness was largely a knee-jerk reaction to
\nthe bombing and the currency managed to pare most of its losses
\nand end the session just slightly lower.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso was weaker, but the South Korean won, the
\nSingapore dollar, and the New Taiwan dollar eked out gains. The
\nbaht was also stronger in offshore trading but local financial
\nmarkets were closed for a holiday.<\/p>\n
Dealers said activity in regional currency markets was
\ngenerally muted ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
\nGreenspan's testimony. Greenspan is scheduled to speak before the
\nHouse of Representatives Tuesday and before the Senate Wednesday.<\/p>\n
"Most market participants expect Greenspan to perform two
\nmiracles: talk up growth and equities; and flatten the yield
\ncurve by dampening any expectations of near-term rate hikes," RBC
\nCapital Markets Senior Currency Strategist Monica Fan wrote in a
\nresearch note late Monday.<\/p>\n
She said that if Greenspan has to choose between those two
\nobjectives, markets are betting he will "opt to continue to
\nunderwrite the equity market," and that should support the dollar
\nthis week provided economic data and second-quarter corporate
\nearnings support such optimism.<\/p>\n
The dollar spiked to an intraday high of Rp 8,235 on news of
\nthe bomb explosion in the Indonesian Parliament building, but
\nclosed the session at Rp 8,225, slightly stronger than Rp 8,220
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
There were no casualties in the incident, which came just days
\nafter police arrested nine Islamic militants they said were
\nplanning fresh terror attacks.<\/p>\n
Dealers said sentiment for the rupiah remains underpinned by
\ncontinued inflows of capital into the country.<\/p>\n
Bank Mandiri's stellar performance on its Jakarta Stock
\nExchange debut Monday signaled growing investor confidence in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won closed higher for the fifth straight
\nsession on continued foreign buying of local shares, but was
\ncapped by intervention fears.<\/p>\n
The dollar ended at 1,176.3 won, down from Friday's 1,178.2
\nwon.<\/p>\n
"We are all afraid of government intervention as the market is
\ngoing down to its (most recent) lowest level... We're afraid
\n1,176 won is bottom and they (authorities) will unwind," said a
\nSeoul-based trader.<\/p>\n
Some market players suspected the government intervened during
\nthe session via state-run banks when the dollar fell below 1,177
\nwon, but this couldn't be confirmed.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso was driven to a two-week low on corporate
\ndemand for the dollar, which ended at an intraday high of 53.545
\npesos from 53.440 pesos Friday, marking its highest close since
\nJune 27.<\/p>\n
A 1.1 percent fall in the local stock market over a possible
\nmanagement change at heavyweight San Miguel Corp. didn't have any
\nimpact on the peso. But if the stock market falls further it may
\nstart weighing on the currency, traders said.<\/p>\n
Against the Singapore dollar, the U.S. unit was quoted at
\nS$1.7540 late in the local session, down from S$1.7568 Friday.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar was buoyed by a local stock market rally
\nand strength in the yen, though the central bank bought the U.S.
\ncurrency to slow the local unit's rise, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar ended at NT$34.376, down from Friday's
\nNT$34.400.<\/p>\n
One dealer at a foreign house said the central bank likely
\nbought at least US$100 million during the session to offset<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the dollar was quoted around 41.50 against the Thai
\nbaht in offshore trading, down from 41.64 baht at Friday's local
\nclose.<\/p>",
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