Asian currencies: Korean won and Philippine peso outperform

The South Korean won and the Philippine peso outperformed other Asian currencies on Wednesday as technical factors and weakness in US consumer confidence data hit the US dollar.
The peso firmed past the 55 per dollar mark for the first time since early June, while the Korean won strengthened more than one percent to a 10-day peak around 1,042 a dollar.
The Singapore dollar rose to the stronger side of 1.69 per US dollar, and the Indonesian rupiah extended its gains to around 9,960 per dollar, having risen past 10,000 on Tuesday for the first time in 3 weeks.
Traders reported some foreign investor inflows into South Korea ahead of a sale of a 22.8 percent stake in Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
The estimated $2.4 billion stake will be sold through an overseas depositary issue and domestic block sales, and analysts said some foreigners expect the local stakes will be sold at a lower price.
The peso was underpinned by the customary strong inflows of dollars from Filipinos working overseas.
BNP Paribas analyst Thio Chin Loo said the rising rupiah and peso - Asia's two high-yielders that have also faced more political turbulence than their neighbours - reflected a reversal in the balance of payments.
"The Philippines has been experiencing net capital account inflows that have more than sufficiently funded the trade deficit, leaving a net balance of payments surplus," Thio said in a note.
"Indonesia's aggressive rate hikes have also deterred selling of the rupiah although latest data are not as clear cut in pointing out balance of payments improvement in justifying sustained rupiah strength. Nonetheless, the reason why investors are attracted to the rupiah is its high yield."
Thio said the Thai baht was likely to be the next to benefit.
The won rallied despite continued selling of Korean equities by foreigners. Foreigners have been net sellers of Korean stocks for 24 consecutive sessions, and have sold a net $3.15 billion worth of stocks during that period.
Analysts said rising global risk appetite and the dollar's decline against major currencies, after an extended rally, were helping the won.
"There are increasing signs of risk appetite returning, which should benefit the cyclically sensitive currencies in the region," Craig Chan, a currency strategist with Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong, said.
"But I am still watching the equity market as despite recent stabilisation, foreigners have still to become net buyers again."