Asian Currencies Climb as Stocks Rally; Won, Rupiah Lead Gains

[Enivid]

Asian currencies advanced, led by South Korea’s won and Indonesia’s rupiah, as a surge in regional stocks this month added to speculation investors are returning to emerging markets.

Eight of the 10 most-active Asian currencies outside Japan gained as U.S. interest rates as low as zero may prompt global investors to buy higher-yielding assets. The won, Asia’s worst performer this year, rose to a six-week high as overseas funds bought 533 billion won ($412 million) more Korean shares than they sold so far in December. The rupiah climbed to the highest level in almost seven weeks.

“Asia seems to be attracting an uptick in equity flows,” said Dwyfor Evans, a strategist with State Street Global Markets in Hong Kong. “There’s just a lot of cheap money out there at the moment.”

The won gained 2.2 percent to 1,295.75 per dollar as of 12:54 p.m. local time, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd. It touched 1,288.95, the strongest since Nov. 5. The Indonesian currency added 1.3 percent to 10,887. The Malaysian ringgit rose 1.3 percent to 3.4837 per dollar.

Asian stocks rose for a second day after the Federal Reserve said on Dec. 16 it will use “all available tools” to help resume growth in the world’s biggest economy. The Fed said it will target a federal funds rate of between zero and 0.25 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares is up 9.8 percent in December, headed for its biggest monthly gain since June 1999. The last time the index ended a month higher was in April this year.

From Bloomberg News.