MANILA (Reuters): Equity benchmarks in Taiwan and South Korea climbed more than 1% on Friday, boosted by optimism around Nvidia's robust earnings, while the US dollar's sustained strength weighed on key emerging market currencies in Asia.
Taipei stocks rose 2.1%, marking their strongest session since mid-October, driven by a 3% surge in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co , the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a key Nvidia supplier.
South Korea's KOSPI gained as much as 1.2%, supported by a nearly 5% surge in chipmaker SK Hynix following its announcement of a share buyback plan.
An MSCI gauge of Asian emerging market equities , in which TSMC holds a 12.4% weighting, was up 0.9% as of 0652 GMT.
"Overnight, market participants had reassessed initial jitters over Nvidia's sales forecast and seemingly took comfort with the broader picture that still highlights robust demand for AI-related products and solutions," Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG, said.
In Singapore, the dollar held steady, while stocks inched higher. The government raised its 2024 economic outlook after third-quarter growth surpassed forecasts and preliminary estimates.
"The Singapore dollar remains largely driven by broad movements in the US dollar. So despite the strong performance in the economy, it hasn't benefited the currency," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ.
The currency is down 2% so far this year, having lost around 5% since October in line with the greenback's resurgence.
In Malaysia, the ringgit and stocks were unfazed after data showed October inflation rose at a slightly faster pace than expected. "Inflation is fairly well contained in Malaysia.
So, we do not expect there to be any immediate implications for the currency or on monetary policy," Goh said.
Global markets remain on edge in a week of heightened risks of escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, following Russia's move to lower its nuclear weapon usage threshold and its launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian city.
India's Nifty 50 index rose by 1%, driven by a recovery in financial stocks, while most Adani group shares declined for a second consecutive day following the indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani by U.S. prosecutors on charges of alleged bribery and fraud. - Reuters
