LONDON: The Philippine's peso and equities fell on Friday as investors weighed security and trade implications of Donald Trump's return to the White House, while a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut buoyed other emerging market currencies and stocks.
Focus is also on the conclusion of China's week-long National People's Congress Standing Committee where investors are expecting further stimulus measures from Beijing.
Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election has stoked fears that his threat to impose tariffs, especially those on China, would impact most emerging market economies which rely on China as their top trading partner.
Of particular concern for the Philippines, a country in which remittances account for a significant portion of its growth, is vice presidential candidate JD Vance's proposal for a 10 per cent tax on remittances.
"The country could be negatively affected the most from the immigration policy if Trump decides to pursue the mass deportation policy. However, Philippines could be less affected by the trade tension and could potentially benefit from the factory relocation as well," Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist at Krung Thai Bank said.
The Philippine peso declined 0.4 per cent, while equities retreated 0.9 per cent heading for a third straight day of declines.
Shares were on track for the worst week since mid-June.
Most other emerging market equities advanced during the day, brushing off a fall during the U.S. election night, after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected rate cut on Thursday.
The Fed signalled a cautious and patient approach to subsequent easing, although analysts still widely believe another rate cut is still on the table in December.
"If the Fed continue to cut rate..... I would expect the EM FXs to regain some strength with some weakness in the U.S. dollar. In this scenario, EM stocks could gain some grounds as well," Panichpibool said.
Shares in Indonesia jumped 1 per cent, while those in Taiwan climbed 0.6 per cent.
Stocks in Singapore advanced 1.7 per cent to hit their highest level since November 2007, led by gains in the city-state's top banks following upbeat results.
Shares of the OCBC and UOB and DBS all hit record highs.
Currencies in the region also advanced with the Indonesian rupiah climbing 0.4 per cent while the Malaysian ringgit climbed 0.5 per cent.
The ringgit, one of the best performing currencies in the region this year, was on track for its sixth consecutive week of decline, while the Thai baht was heading for its third week of decline.