Articles
4 April 2019

ASEAN Morning Bytes

General market tone: Wait and see.

Risk sentiment will likely be mixed on Thursday as investors digest developments on the trade front amid disappointing US economic numbers.

EM Space: We’re in the endgame - Lighthizer

  • General Asia: Investors will likely move sideways with an upward bias but the focus will remain on the ongoing US-China trade negotiations and the US labor data on Friday.
  • Indonesia: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered its growth forecast for Indonesia to 5.2% (from 5.3%) for 2019 and to 5.3% in 2020. The lender cited weaker export growth given the external environment but still believes consumption and public infrastructure spending could still keep growth at a “healthy” 5.2%. Lastly, the current account deficit is seen to settle at 2.7% of GDP, slightly higher than the government’s 2.5% target but lower than in 2018.
  • Philippines: The ADB slashed its GDP growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.4% from 6.7% on expectations of weak agricultural production due to the El Niño dry spell. The new forecast, however, assumes that losses from the drought to be offset in large part by strong household spending as inflation continues to slide to an average of 3.8% for the year (from 5.2% in 2018).

What to look out for: Market looks to US data for clues

  • India RBI meeting (4 April)
  • Malaysia trade (4 April)
  • Thailand consumer confidence (4 April)
  • Philippines inflation (5 April)
  • US NFP (5 April)

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).