EMERGING MARKETS-Asia FX gains as tariff concerns hurt dollar; AI-led stocks hit records

By Roshan Thomas

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian currencies strengthened on Monday as uncertainty over U.S. trade policy kept the dollar under pressure, while regional equities moved higher, spearheaded by gains in South Korea and Taiwan.

MSCI's emerging market currency index .MIEM00000CUS climbed 0.24%, hovering just below its record peak hit on February 12.

The Malaysian ringgit MYR= advanced 0.4%, while the Philippine peso PHP= rose 0.9% to its highest level since late September, as a softer dollar index USD= lent support.

The dollar index weakened after President Donald Trump unveiled a blanket 15% import levy in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against his sweeping tariffs.

A 15% global tariff rate would be a modest relief for India and ASEAN economies like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, according to analysts at Barclays, though the levy would be higher for Singapore with a present rate of 10%.

The Singapore dollar SGD= edged up 0.2% and the South Korean won KRW=KFTC, Thai baht THB=TH and Taiwanese dollar TWD=TP all gained over 0.3%.

The narrative in Asian emerging markets has shifted from tariff fears to competitiveness, with supply chains viewed as more diversified than in 2018 and economies tied to AI hardware, capital goods and advanced manufacturing viewed as better positioned than pure export plays, said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs Australia.

Regional equities advanced, with Taiwan's benchmark .TWII touching a record high of 34,212.38 points before closing 0.5% higher. Shares of contract chip giant TSMC 2330.TW jumped 1% to a record.

South Korea's KOSPI index .KS11, another key beneficiary of advancements in AI, gained 0.7%. The benchmark rose 2.1% earlier in the day, to hit a record high.

Investors are bracing for earnings later in the week from AI heavyweight Nvidia NVDA.O, which commands almost 8% of the S&P 500 and has the heft to move markets.

"The current environment is increasing dispersion within emerging Asia, AI-linked North Asia continues to attract flows, while trade-sensitive and high-beta markets remain vulnerable to policy shocks," said Glenn Yin, director of research at AC Capital Market.

Indonesian stocks .JKSE rose 1.4% after the Indonesia Stock Exchange late on Friday unveiled a series of capital market reforms, following a January warning from MSCI MSCI.N that the country risked a downgrade to frontier status by as early as May.

Thailand equities .SETI rose as much as 1.5%, clocking their highest since mid-October 2024.

Equities in the Philippines .PSI advanced 1% while Singapore .STI and Malaysia stocks .KLSE rose 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.

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