Most Asian currencies up late<\/p>\n
Alan Yonan Jr., Singapore, Dow Jones<\/p>\n
Most Asian currencies strengthened modestly Wednesday, as many
\npaying little heed to the dollar's rebound against the yen during
\nthe session.<\/p>\n
Only the South Korean won weakened as it succumbed to the
\nyen's decline and amid foreign outflows from the local stock
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
The won gave up some of its gains from a day earlier when the
\nSouth Korean currency had hit a three-month high against the
\ndollar.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors were net sellers of Korean stocks for the
\nsecond day in a row, putting pressure on the local currency ahead
\nof the proceeds being converted from won to dollars.<\/p>\n
Foreigners sold a net 60.5 billion won of shares Wednesday,
\ncontributing to a 1.1 percent decline in the Korea Stock
\nExchange's main index.<\/p>\n
Despite the "mild profit-taking" by foreign investors in the
\nKorean stock market, the momentum of equity inflows indicated by
\na 10-day moving average remains supportive for the won, JP Morgan
\nsaid in a research report.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at 1,307.0 won, up from 1,306.3 won a
\nday earlier.<\/p>\n
The yen's weakness weighed on the won after Japanese Finance
\nMinistry officials repeated their concerns over the dollar's
\nslide below the psychologically important 130 level yen.<\/p>\n
The won's fall would have been greater if not for a hefty
\nround of dollar selling by KorAm Bank. The bank sold $200 million
\nas part of a foreign exchange hedging strategy ahead of its
\npricing of $200 million in global depository receipts Thursday,
\nsaid Hyun-Jung Ryoo, KorAm's chief foreign exchange dealer.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar continued to flex its muscle, hitting a
\nfresh four-month closing high as exporters sold the U.S.
\ncurrency.<\/p>\n
However, most of the New Taiwan dollar's gains were eroded by
\nthe Taiwan central bank's last-minute intervention aimed at
\npreventing the currency from appreciating too quickly.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.808, down from NT$34.810
\nTuesday. The U.S. currency had traded as low as NT$34.793 before
\nthe central bank intervened, buying about US$100 million.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar also garnered some support from short-covering
\nby interbank traders and U.S. dollar buying in overseas non-
\ndeliverable forwards markets.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah continued to ride a wave of positive
\ninvestor sentiment being generated by the country's progress on
\neconomic reforms and restructuring of its huge public debt.<\/p>\n
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at Rp
\n9,325, down from Rp 9,400 the previous session.<\/p>\n
The dollar had traded as high as Rp 9,405 midway through the
\nsession, but fell victim to profit-taking. Key dollar support
\nremains at Rp 9,200, dealers say.<\/p>\n
The peso gained as exporters unloaded dollars and banks
\ntrimmed their excess dollar holdings after accumulating the U.S.
\ncurrency over the past few days in response to bomb blasts in the
\nsouthern part of the country.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 50.895 pesos on the Philippine dealing
\nsystem, down from 50.960 pesos a day earlier.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar recovered from an early session decline
\nto end the Asian session little changed.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.8190, compared
\nwith S$1.8187 late Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar's rise to an intraday high of S$1.8225 around
\nmidmorning prompted profit-taking by a local bank, sending the
\nU.S. currency lower.<\/p>\n
The baht traded weaker for most of the day in tandem with the
\nsofter yen. The dollar hit an intraday high of 43.560 baht in the
\nafternoon session, but slipped near the close as the yen began to
\nrebound.<\/p>\n
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 43.295
\nbaht, little changed from 43.290 baht a day earlier.<\/p>",
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