Most Asian equities advanced on Thursday, with South Korean shares on a four-day rally, while regional currencies held steady after US President Donald Trump signed a bill ending the nation's longest government shutdown.
The MSCI index of emerging Asia equities and a broader index tracking Asian equities outside Japan edged higher, while the MSCI Asean equity index was flat.
Trump's signing of the bill allows federal workers to return to their jobs after a historic 43-day shutdown, although just how quickly full government services and operations will resume is unclear.
"The well-anticipated end to the shutdown clearly brought some relief to markets," said Fiona Lim, a senior forex strategist at Maybank, while warning that traders are still caught between the US Federal Reserve's warnings on inflation and concerns on the labour market.
In emerging Asia, stocks in the Philippines rose as much as 1% to log a second session of gains, while shares in South Korea rose as much as 0.9% to record their fourth straight session of gains.
"The resolution of the shutdown signals a more predictable trade environment and stronger demand from the US, which is a key market for these countries," said Glenn Yin, director of research at AC Capital Market.
Stocks in Taiwan edged 0.2% lower as an outlier, dragged by over a 1% fall in TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker.
"Foreign investors have sold for several sessions, weighing on momentum amid concerns over US tech valuations and tighter chip export curbs hitting Taiwan’s tech sector," Glenn said.
The Indonesian rupiah declined the most, slipping about 0.2% to 16,733 per US dollar, while other regional currencies were mostly muted.
The rupiah is currently pressured by uncertainty about government or central bank rules related to dollar deposits, according to Fakhrul Fulvian, chief economist at Trimegah Securities, keeping investors from buying the currency.
The Malaysian ringgit was on track for its eighth straight session of gains, matching the longest gaining streak it achieved in early August last year. Investors are looking out for the country's third-quarter economic growth data on Friday.
Source: theedgemalaysia