Aug 14 (Reuters) – The Russian rouble slid past the psychologically important 100 per U.S. dollar on Monday, while China and Hong Kong stocks fell after disappointing credit data added to worries about a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
The roubleRUBUTSTN=MCX was last down 100.78 against the dollar, after hitting a 17-month low. The currency has lost a quarter of its value since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
“The rouble has been underperforming all this year, partly on lower oil revenues but also because of capital flight,” said Michael Wang, deputy portfolio manager at Mirabaud Asset Management.
“The most recent leg weaker was likely triggered by the central bank’s announcement last week that it would stop buying foreign currency on the domestic market.”
Putin’s economic advisor Maxim Oreshkin said in an op-ed for the TASS news agency that the Kremlin wanted a strong rouble and that loose monetary policy was the main reason behind the Russian currency’s weakening.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index .CSI300 and the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC fell 0.7% and 0.3% respectively, after data showed China’s new bank loans tumbled in July and other key credit gauges also weakened.
Furthermore, two Chinese listed companies said they had not received payment on maturing investment products from Zhongrong International Trust, adding to stress in a financial market already roiled by a property sector downturn.
China’s Country Garden2007.HK, the country’s top private property developer, shed 17.4% on suspending trading of its 11 onshore bonds from Monday.
Overall, MSCI’s index for emerging market stocks .MSCIEF fell 0.9%, while the currencies index .MIEM00000CUS slipped 0.2%.
Shares of India’s Adani group companies slid 1% to 3% after Deloitte resigned as auditor of Adani Ports APSE.NS, the first such move at the conglomerate since U.S. short-seller Hindenburg’s report on the company in January.
The Turkish lira TRYTOM=D3 traded at 27.0525 against the dollar, weakening from a closing level of 26.9 on Friday.
Poland’s zloty EURPLN= slipped 0.1% against the euro, lagging central and eastern European peers, after data showed consumer prices in the 12 months to July rose 10.8%.
In Latin America, Argentina’s markets face an election hangover after a shock primary election win for far-right libertarian Javier Milei, who wants to axe the central bank and dollarize the economy, shook up the race towards general elections in October.
Investment bank JPMorgan’s analysts recommended staying “market weight” on Argentina’s government bonds on Monday.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
