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2026-02-16 15:00:31
[Light Trading During Holiday: Asian Currencies Trade in Narrow Range, Stocks Mixed] ⑴ On Monday, emerging Asian currencies traded in a narrow range as overall trading activity was subdued due to holidays in China, South Korea, the United States, and Indonesia. Stocks also declined, lacking strong market clues to drive investor sentiment. ⑵ Among the few actively traded currencies, the Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht rose slightly by 0.2%. The ringgit has strengthened in four of the past five trading days, making it the region's best-performing currency so far this year, with global funds flowing into Malaysian assets due to a weaker dollar and geopolitical tensions. ⑶ In the stock market, the Philippine stock market fell nearly 1% to its lowest level since early February, pressured by declines in major index components. Jollibee Foods shares fell 1.4%, and Alternergy Holdings hit a two-week low. The Malaysian stock market fell 0.4% to its lowest level since February 6, dragged down by 99 Speedmart Retail. (4) Thai stocks bucked the trend, rising 1.2% to their highest level since December 2024, and last week saw their strongest weekly performance since mid-2025. Ratasak Piriyanont, senior vice president of Kasikorn Securities, said the rebound was driven by renewed foreign capital inflows, fueled by a clearer political outlook and rising expectations for new economic stimulus measures. (5) The focus now shifts to key events this week, including the policy decisions of the Indonesian central bank and the Philippine central bank on Thursday. Maybank analysts expect the Indonesian central bank to keep interest rates unchanged, while the Philippine central bank "should lower its benchmark interest rate to 4.25%."
