South Korean and Indonesian equities came under pressure as investors weighed AI cost concerns and a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire, while regional currencies stayed broadly steady and the dollar held firm.
Asian markets were mixed on Monday as investors weighed stretched artificial intelligence-driven rallies against rising cost pressures and monitored a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran that kept oil prices elevated and the dollar near a one-year high. The MSCI EM Asia gauge was little changed near two-week lows, while an ASEAN stock index rose 0.4% after touching a two-week low in the previous session. South Korea's KOSPI, after losing 7% last week, fell as much as 3.4% before trimming losses to around 2%, while Taiwan's market climbed as much as 2.1%, extending this year's gains to 56% and trailing only the KOSPI's 97% rally in the region. In Southeast Asia, Thailand's benchmark rose more than 1%, helped by Delta Electronics Thailand, while Jakarta's market fell 0.4% and was set for its worst June since 2015, down about 4.5% for the month and heading for a sixth straight monthly decline. The dollar index held around 101.4 as investors balanced geopolitical risk and rising prospects of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year. Regional currencies were mostly stable, with the Malaysian ringgit gaining more than 0.6% to 4.063 per dollar and the Indonesian rupiah strengthening to 17,860 per dollar, while the South Korean won fell 0.6% and the Taiwanese dollar edged 0.2% lower.