Emerging Markets: Equities slip as Gulf hostilities resume; KOSPI remains volatile

United Overseas Bank

09/07/2026 07:31

.
KOSPI erases early gains
Singapore stocks continue rally to new record highs
Malaysia central bank rate decision expected
Rupiah weakens to 18,090 a dollar
By Sherin Sunny

    July 9 (Reuters) - Equities in emerging Asia traded in a tight range on Thursday, with the tech-heavy benchmark in South Korea erasing early gains, as a resumption of hostilities in the Persian Gulf reignited inflation fears and dampened risk appetite.
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 swung from sharp early gains to steep losses before trading at levels near its previous close around its seven-week low by 0440 GMT. The index has lost more than 20% since setting a record closing level on June 22, confirming the market is in bear territory. The gauge nevertheless leads global markets with a 72% gain this year.
"Expect a bumpy path given inherent memory sector volatility amplified by dealer hedging of levered ETFs," analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note, while still flagging the gauge should be able to recover the lost ground on strong earnings growth and attractive valuation.
In Southeast Asia, Singaporean stocks .STI scaled a record high for a fifth consecutive session, with banks OCBC OCBC.SI, UOBH UOBH.SI and DBS DBSM.SI gaining between 1.3% and 1.4%.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose after President Donald Trump on Wednesday said an interim agreement to end the Iran war was "over", followed by fresh attacks and retaliation between the two sides.
Among currencies in EM Asia, the rupiah IDR= weakened to 18,090, approaching its record low level of 18,190 per dollar. 
The South Korean won .KRW=KFTC held firm at 1,506.2 a dollar. Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun Song said that he sees a strong likelihood of the won appreciating, given robust economic fundamentals.
In Malaysia, the ringgit MYR= and stocks .KLSE were largely unchanged ahead of the central bank's monetary policy decision. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a sixth straight meeting at 2.75% and hold it there through 2027.
Malaysia's ringgit MYR=, the Thai baht THB=TH, Singapore dollar SGD= and the Philippine peso PHP= were muted. 
Equities in the Philippines .PSI and Malaysia .KLSE fell 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively, while those in Indonesia .JKSE and Thailand .SETI gained 0.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
        
HIGHLIGHTS:    
** SK Hynix US listing more than seven times oversubscribed, source says
** Thailand approves nearly $2 billion in new investments
** Malaysia's May industrial production up 8.4% y/y, below forecast
     
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0442 GMT
COUNTRY
FX RIC
FX DAILY %
FX YTD %
INDEX
STOCKS DAILY %
STOCKS YTD %
Japan
JPY=
+0.09
-3.56
.N225
1.2
30.3
China
CNY=CFXS
+0.10
+2.79
.SSEC
-0.46
-0.41
India
INR=IN
+0.02
-5.93
.NSEI
0.70
-7.96
Indonesia
IDR=
-0.56
-7.86
.JKSE
0.32
-31.86
Malaysia
MYR=
-0.07
-0.52
.KLSE
-0.29
-0.08
Philippines
PHP=
-0.07
-4.45
.PSI
-0.24
3.43
S.Korea
KRW=KFTC
-0.05
-4.24
.KS11
-0.01
71.95
Singapore
SGD=
+0.09
-0.53
.STI
0.74
16.43
Taiwan
TWD=TP
-0.32
-2.17
.TWII
-0.07
57.80
Thailand
THB=TH
+0.01
-5.97
.SETI
1.35
26.82
     
     

(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
((Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com;))