EMERGING MARKETS-AI-fuelled rally puts Asian stocks on track for best quarter since 2009

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Taiwan, South Korea stocks up more than 3%

KOSPI rises more than 100% this year

Indonesia stocks down 3% on the day

MSCI EM Asia equities eye best quarter since 2009

By Roshan Thomas

- South Korean and Taiwanese shares rose on Tuesday as investors piled onto AI-linked technology stocks, putting the MSCI EM Asia index on track for its strongest quarterly performance since 2009.

The MSCI EM Asia index .MIMS00000PUS rose 1.2%, on track to add nearly 30.1% between April and June, its best quarterly showing since June 2009. Broader gauges tracking Asia-wide stocks were also eyeing their best quarter since 2009.

Taiwan's tech-heavy benchmark .TWII, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI-driven rally, advanced over 2.5% on the day, helped by a 1.7% gain in chipmaker TSMC 2330.TW. The index is up near 60% so far this year.

South Korean equities .KS11, another major winner from the AI rally, advanced 1%. The KOSPI has emerged as one of the world's best-performing major stock markets, advancing a record 101% so far this year.

Strong demand for AI-related chips and hardware has injected billions of dollars into technology-heavy markets such as Taiwan and South Korea, although the concentration of capital flows in a few names has driven volatility to record levels.

"There are a handful of chip stocks doing most of the heavy lifting across AI," said Zavier Wong, a market analyst at eToro.

"It's still worth watching whether the rally broadens beyond names like TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, because the same concentration that's driving the gains is also where the risk sits if AI-linked demand cools."

Meanwhile, investors kept a close eye on Iran-U.S. talks in Doha this week, even as Iran said no meeting had been scheduled. Oil prices have now dipped to pre-war levels on hopes of a positive outcome, although the fate of the ceasefire hangs in the balance.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesian shares .JKSE tumbled over 3%, the most in three weeks. The benchmark has lost 34% this year, marking its worst January-June period on record.

Ratings agency Fitch reiterated concerns that domestic companies face mounting macroeconomic and regulatory headwinds. Global index provider MSCI last week deferred a decision on a potential downgrade of Indonesian stocks to frontier status until November.

Philippine stocks .PSI lost 1.6%, while Thailand shares .SETI rose 0.7%.

Currencies in EM Asia edged lower as the U.S. dollar clawed back overnight losses to trade slightly higher.

Indonesia's rupiah IDR= slipped to 17,875 per dollar, while the South Korean won KRW=KFTC briefly hit a three-week low of 1,550.

In North Asia, Japan's yen JPY= tumbled to levels last seen in 1986, reviving concerns that authorities may intervene to stem the currency's decline.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Yield on Indonesia's 10-year bonds ID10YT=RR at 7.138%, 1-year bonds at ID1YT=RR at 7.9430%

** Indonesia inflation seen rising to 3.20% in June, May trade surplus expected to rebound

** Australia central bank saw need to keep policy restrictive, would hike again if needed

** Japan keeps intervention rhetoric unchanged despite yen's slide to 40-year low

Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0714 GMT

COUNTRY

FX RIC

FX DAILY %

FX YTD %

INDEX

STOCKS DAILY %

STOCKS YTD %

Japan

JPY=

-0.16

-3.42

.N225

0.86

39.18

China

CNY=CFXS

+0.15

+2.98

.SSEC

0.56

3.22

India

INR=IN

-0.12

-5.06

.NSEI

-0.06

-8.41

Indonesia

IDR=

-0.39

-6.90

.JKSE

-2.42

-34.31

Malaysia

MYR=

-0.02

-0.29

.KLSE

0.14

-0.71

Philippines

PHP=

-0.16

-4.05

.PSI

-1.57

-0.26

S.Korea

KRW=KFTC

-0.34

-7.02

.KS11

0.97

101.14

Singapore

SGD=

-0.13

-0.67

.STI

-0.54

11.50

Taiwan

TWD=TP

-0.03

-1.31

.TWII

2.50

59.25

Thailand

THB=TH

+0.17

-5.26

.SETI

0.70

26.14