Articles
29 May 2019

ASEAN Morning Bytes

General market tone: Risk-off.

Trade concerns continue to fester and will likely weigh on sentiment on Wednesday.

EM Space: No news means bad news for risk sentiment as dealers likely to pull back

  • General Asia: With scant developments on the trade front, market players will likely focus on the sustained dip in US Treasuries yields. Fears of a full-blown trade war will likely grip markets again on Wednesday. Crude oil prices inched higher with supply disruptions feared in the US market.
  • Thailand: A surprising rebound in manufacturing in April bodes well for GDP growth in the current quarter, though we don’t think the worst is over just yet and maintain our call of a central bank policy rate cut in June. Highlighting the lack of fiscal support for the economy, finance ministry yesterday announced a delay in the budget for fiscal 2020 (Oct 2019-Sep 2020) by three months due to the transition to a new government. During the transition period, outlays would be capped at 50% of that budgeted for current fiscal 2019. Weak government spending boosts the case for a June rate cut in our view.
  • Philippines: The Philippines improved in terms of global competitiveness, according to the Institute for Management Development (IMD), nudging higher to 46th out of 63 from the previous ranking of 50th as economic growth remained robust and labor market developments were positive. Despite the improved, the Philippines lagged the rest of the region, placing 13th among 14 Asia Pacific countries.
  • Singapore: Singapore displaced the US as the world's most competitive economy, reclaiming the top spot it last had in 2010.

What to look out for: US and China data

  • US GDP (30 May)
  • Fed Potter (30 May)
  • China PMI manufacturing and services (31 May)
  • Thailand GIR and trade (31 May)
  • Bank of Korea meeting (31 May)
  • Indonesia money supply (31 May)
  • Philippines money supply (31 May)
  • Fed Clarida and Bostic (31 May)
  • South Korea trade (1 June)

Disclaimer

"THINK Outside" is a collection of specially commissioned content from third-party sources, such as economic think-tanks and academic institutions, that ING deems reliable and from non-research departments within ING. ING Bank N.V. ("ING") uses these sources to expand the range of opinions you can find on the THINK website. Some of these sources are not the property of or managed by ING, and therefore ING cannot always guarantee the correctness, completeness, actuality and quality of such sources, nor the availability at any given time of the data and information provided, and ING cannot accept any liability in this respect, insofar as this is permissible pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations.

This publication does not necessarily reflect the ING house view. This publication has been prepared solely for information purposes without regard to any particular user's investment objectives, financial situation, or means. The information in the publication is not an investment recommendation and it is not investment, legal or tax advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any financial instrument. Reasonable care has been taken to ensure that this publication is not untrue or misleading when published, but ING does not represent that it is accurate or complete. ING does not accept any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from any use of this publication. Unless otherwise stated, any views, forecasts, or estimates are solely those of the author(s), as of the date of the publication and are subject to change without notice.

The distribution of this publication may be restricted by law or regulation in different jurisdictions and persons into whose possession this publication comes should inform themselves about, and observe, such restrictions.

Copyright and database rights protection exists in this report and it may not be reproduced, distributed or published by any person for any purpose without the prior express consent of ING. All rights are reserved.

ING Bank N.V. is authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and supervised by the European Central Bank (ECB), the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). ING Bank N.V. is incorporated in the Netherlands (Trade Register no. 33031431 Amsterdam).