Asia's Biggest Drop in Reserves Is in Indonesia as Rupiah Slides

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Asia's Biggest Drop in Reserves Is in Indonesia as Rupiah Slides

By 

Karl Lester M Yap

September 10, 2018, 4:00 PM CDT

Bank Indonesia has been the most aggressive central bank in Asia this year, not only on interest rates but on foreign-currency intervention as well.

 

 

The bank has drained almost 10 percent from foreign reserves this year, the most among Asia’s largest economies, to help bolster the rupiah amid a rout in emerging markets. The Philippines has cut its buffers by almost 5 percent, while reserves in India have fallen more than 2 percent.

 

 

 

Malaysia and South Korea have managed to boost their reserves even as their currencies also weakened.

 

 

The rupiah slumped to its lowest level since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis last week, while India’s rupee lost about 12 percent against the dollar this year.

 

 

With volatility likely to remain high, reserves are becoming more important in assessing the buffers of an economy, said Eugenia Victorino, head of Asia strategy at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB in Singapore.

“This is particularly true for India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, countries running current-account deficits and regarded as more exposed to the negative sentiment on emerging markets,” she said.

Indonesia’s reserves fell to $117.9 billion in August, the lowest since January 2017, though still enough to finance 6.6 months of imports and servicing of the government’s external debt, according to the central bank.

— With assistance by Matt Turner

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Markets

Asian Stocks Are Caught in the Longest Sell-off in 16 Years

By 

Ian C Sayson

September 11, 2018, 11:38 PM CDT Updated on September 12, 2018, 3:33 AM CD

It’s a losing streak investors haven’t seen since 2002.

 

 

The benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell for a tenth consecutive day Wednesday, extending its recent decline to almost 5 percent and bringing the loss in value to almost $700 billion this year.

 

 

And there’s a slew of reasons: trade, the U.S. dollar, emerging-market turmoil and the bear market in Chinese stocks to name but a few.

 

 

“Asian stocks have been caught in the middle of increasing trade tensions as well as the rising dollar and emerging market contagion, and certainly China weakness is also adding fuel to the fire,” said Nader Naeimi, head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors Ltd.

 

 

Most individual Asian stock markets fell Wednesday, with Japan’s Topix index closing 0.5 percent lower while the Hang Seng Index fell further into bear market territory with a 0.3 percent drop. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index support Attempts Lack Punch">came close a four-year low, ignoring policy makers’ attempts to lift sentiment.

Free Falling

Asian stocks are declining for 10th straight day, the longest streak since 2002

 

Source: Bloomberg

 

Here’s what strategists are saying about the current state of play in Asian stocks:

Emerging Market Spillover

“There’s more contagion coming from Turkey and Argentina events to the more externally susceptible economies like Indonesia and Philippines,” said Ken Peng, strategist at Citigroup Inc. Both Southeast Asian nations have “double deficits, they have inflation that is relatively high and rising. And their reserves are falling.”

Read more: Emerging Value in Asia Stocks Not Enough to Win Investors Back

Trade

The “clear concern” in the short term is trade tensions, said Michael McCarthy, Sydney-based chief market strategist at CMC Markets. While signs of a de-escalation would be positive, that seems unlikely in the current environment, he added.

“The biggest risk is trade,” Citi’s Peng said, citing that “people are very afraid of” the additional $200 billion in tariffs. He noted that the midterm elections on Nov. 6 is key and trade tensions may dissipate after that.

Greenback

The slump in Asian stocks is mainly due to the continued strength of the U.S. dollar against emerging-market currencies, Paul Kim, chief investment officer at Eastspring Investments said. He expects an outflow from emerging markets with the Federal Reserve still on course to increase interest rates.

Still Bearish

“We maintain a bearish stance on Asia and EM equities and expect further downgrades to consensus earnings estimates in coming months,” said Jonathan Garner, managing director at Morgan Stanley, citing “a slowdown in China’s growth consequent upon credit tightening” and weaker demand in autos and technology hardware.

Premature

“Asia is certainly cheaper and oversold now than the start of the year, and in my view closer to the end of its falls than the beginning. But given the risk around U.S. equities and the fact that any falls in U.S. equities will lead to a broad global risk-off sentiment, I suggest, it maybe premature to go in yet,” AMP’s Naeimi said.

Some Optimism

“We see that light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re still kind of in the darkness ourselves,” Citi’s Peng said. Investors need more concrete catalysts before they step in to buy stocks. “So that’s the challenge for money mangers.”

“We are looking to be more constructive on Asian equities in the next quarter, if the current correction continues. Valuations will be more attractive and worth a look then,” said Jason Low, senior investment strategist at DBS Bank Holdings Ltd.

“The good news is that valuations are looking more attractive now and technicals are oversold, which suggest that Asian stocks could be poised for a rebound in the next few months,” Jasslyn Yeo global market strategist as JPMorgan Asset Management

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