Indonesian Stocks & Rupiah Update: Asian Markets Surge on Weak US Jobs & Trans-Pacific Partnership
Indonesian stocks and the rupiah continued to strengthen sharply on Tuesday morning on global relief after weak US jobs growth data were released last Friday (02/10) dimming chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike before the end of the year. Yesterday, Asian markets, Wall Street and Europe all surged. Moreover, with US interest rates remaining at between 0.00 and 0.25 percent in the foreseeable future, investors are attracted by higher-yielding emerging market assets such as Indonesian stocks and the rupiah.
By 09:40 am local Jakarta time, Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index had climbed 1.86 percent to 4,424.32 points while the rupiah had appreciated 1.50 percent to IDR 14,286 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index). Yesterday, Indonesian stocks had surged 3.23 percent on global optimism, while the rupiah appreciated 0.98 percent.
The primary reason behind this global rebound is expectation that the US central bank (Federal Reserve) is to delay a Fed Fund Rate hike until next year (possibly even after March 2016 according to part of the investor community) as US September non-farm payrolls stood at a disappointing 142,000, far below the market consensus of 203,000 meaning that US labour conditions may not be strong enough yet to cope with a Fed Fund Rate hike.
By 10:05 am local Jakarta time, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index was up 1.49 percent, Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 1.19 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.16 percent. Markets in China, which have recently been plagued by severe volatility due to the bursting of a bubble and concern about China's economic growth, remain closed until Wednesday for a national holiday.
Asian markets' positive performance is also supported by Monday's agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership which tackles a number of barriers (in an area that covers 40 percent of world trade). Furthermore, investors hope to see further stimulus measures from key central banks. Japan's central bank will start its two-day policy meeting today and is expected to widen its stimulus program to boost the sluggish economy.
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