Asian monies mostly up against dollar

Asian monies mostly up against dollar

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Asian currencies were mostly higher against the U.S. dollar late Tuesday as a stable yen and a stronger rupiah provided support to some Asian currencies, analysts said.

Foreign exchange markets were reasonably calm despite the havoc on the regional stock markets following the sharp declines posted by U.S. equities overnight.

Stock markets across Asia were generally weaker with Singapore's Straits Times index shedding 2.8 percent and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index down 3.1 percent.

The South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, and Thai baht gained Tuesday, while the New Taiwan dollar and Philippine peso were slightly weaker.

The rupiah Tuesday rebounded sharply a day after it plunged below Rp 11,000 to the dollar on political and economic concerns.

Bank Indonesia intervened in the foreign exchange markets for the third straight trading day and the dollar closed at Rp 10,200 rupiah, down from Rp 10,500 at Monday's finish.

Dealers in Singapore and Jakarta said the Indonesian central bank entered a thin market and sold as much as US$70 million to defend the rupiah.

However, the overall market sentiment remains bearish. Some players continue to bet that President Abdurrahman Wahid will have to consider some form of capital controls to shore up the rupiah.

The yen was quoted at Y120.17 against the dollar in late Asian trading, up from Y120.60 late Monday in Asia.

"The yen strengthened, influencing sentiment," said Rebecca Patterson, global foreign exchange strategist at JP Morgan in Singapore.

The yen was spared a selloff in reaction to plummeting Japanese share prices Tuesday, as losses in the benchmark Nikkei 225 were within market expectations, players said.

Just how much the foreign exchange market expected the Nikkei to drop wasn't clear, but the benchmark did shed 2.9 percent to close at 11,819.70, the lowest finish since January 1985.

The South Korean won was one of the beneficiaries of the yen's stability. After opening weaker at 1,284.0 won to the dollar, the won strengthened throughout the day closing at 1,275.3 won, up from Monday's close of 1278.40 won.

However, the New Taiwan dollar ended at a six-week closing low on concerns about foreign outflows from the equities market. Foreign investors Tuesday sold a net NT$2.57 billion in main board shares.

The Singapore dollar fell in early trading in a knee-jerk reaction to the declines in the equities markets but recovered in later trading, tracking the yen and rupiah.

Fears of intervention by the Monetary Authority of Singapore also capped the U.S. dollar's rise against the Singapore dollar, dealers said.

The Singapore dollar was quoted at S$1.7594 to the U.S. unit in late trading, from S$1.7617 late Monday.

The Philippine peso closed lower in reaction to the slump in equities. The U.S. dollar closed at 48.160 pesos on the Philippine Dealing System, up from 48.145 pesos Monday.

The Thai baht ended stronger against the U.S. dollar in Asia as investors unwound long-dollar positions following the retreat of the U.S. unit against other regional currencies, dealers said.

The dollar finished at 43.55 baht, down from 43.72 pesos at the Asian close Monday.