Rupiah's rally boost Asian monies<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Dow Jones): A wave of post-election euphoria lifted
\nthe Indonesian rupiah Tuesday, buttressing positive sentiment
\ntoward other Asian currencies.<\/p>\n
As initial results indicated a strong showing by Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's PDI-P party and Gus Dur's PKB party in Monday's
\nIndonesian parliamentary elections, the Jakarta stock market's
\nbenchmark Composite index rocketed by 14 percent.<\/p>\n
In the foreign-exchange market the rupiah rose, as dealers
\nreported strong bidding interest from U.S. and European
\ninvestment houses looking to buy into the rally in Indonesian
\nequities.<\/p>\n
Cheered by Indonesia's nearly trouble-free poll and encouraged
\nby Wall Street's overnight rally, offshore investors bought into
\nother Asian stock markets, boosting currencies across the
\ncontinent.<\/p>\n
But even as the rupiah led the rally in regional foreign-
\nexchange markets, currency analysts advised caution, warning that
\nIndonesia still faces formidable political and economic obstacles
\nto recovery.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian currency climbed to its highest level in four
\nweeks, with the U.S. dollar falling to Rp 7,660 toward the end of
\nAsian trading hours, from Rp 7,765 late Monday.<\/p>\n
The rupiah's rally boosted the currency of neighboring
\nSingapore, where selling pushed the U.S. dollar lower to test
\nwhat traders described as solid support at S$1.7150.<\/p>\n
Toward the close of local dealing, the U.S. currency lifted
\nslightly off its earlier low to trade at S$1.7165, down from
\nS$1.7265 the previous day.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht also rose strongly Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar
\ndropped below support at 37.05 baht. Traders, however, attributed
\nthe rise more to a 2 percent rally in local stocks than to a
\nspill-over of positive sentiment following the poll in Indonesia,
\nwhich is seen as too distant to have much effect on the baht.<\/p>\n
Late in Asian trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 36.9400
\nbaht, down from 37.0750 baht late Monday.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso also rose Tuesday. At the close of local
\ndealing, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 37.845 pesos, down from
\n37.980 pesos at the end of Monday's session.<\/p>\n
In North Asia, the South Korean won ended stronger against the
\nU.S. dollar, after state-owned banks failed to step into the
\nmarket as expected to absorb inflows of U.S. dollars generated by
\nforeign trade and investment.<\/p>\n
By the end of the local trading session, the U.S. currency had
\nfallen to 1,178.50 won, from 1,183.20 won at Monday's close.<\/p>\n
The U.S. currency also lost ground against the New Taiwan
\ndollar, which hit three-and-a-half-month highs Tuesday, as it
\ncontinued to benefit from bullish comments made Monday by a
\nsenior central bank official.<\/p>\n
At the local close, the U.S. dollar was quoted at NT$32.579,
\ndown from NT$32.629 Monday.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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