* S. Korean won leads gains
* Indonesian rupiah dips ahead of c.bank meeting
* 'No clear sense of direction in the market' - analyst
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Dec 19 (Reuters) - The South Korean won led gains among
Asian currencies on Thursday, buoyed by the government's plans
to boost the economy and an improved outlook for the electronics
sector, while most others were little changed ahead of the
holiday season.
The won strengthened 0.4% against the greenback,
making it the top performer in the day.
South Korea cut its 2020 economic growth forecasts, but
pledged more fiscal spending and tax support to revive the
economy. The finance ministry also noted that global research
agencies had forecast that prices of computer memory chips, the
country's top export item, would pick up next year.
"The semiconductor industry was supposed to see a bottoming
in the second half of this year....it was ofcourse hijacked by a
blowup of tensions between U.S.-China on the tech front, and the
Japan-Korea tensions didn't help so it became a supply side
issue," said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist at Mizuho Bank.
"So far that they are able to get past that, then there
could be a case for a gradual and modest recovery in demand
rather than a continued slump."
The Taiwan dollar, which also stands to highly
benefit from an improvement in global demand for electronics,
gained 0.2% to the dollar.
Taiwan's central bank is likely to leave its policy rate
steady later in the day, due to an improvement in the export
outlook despite a protracted U.S.-China trade war, a Reuters
poll showed.
Meanwhile, most other Asian currencies in the region were
languid ahead of the holiday season, barely reacting to U.S.
President Donald Trump's impeachment.
"I think if anything really hits us in the face today is the
conspicuous lack of direction and perhaps interest in some of
the things that have been going on," Varathan said, adding that
markets seem to be in a comfortable place and would not want to
get anymore ahead with it.
The Indonesian rupiah edged lower, with focus locked
on to Bank Indonesia's policy meeting later in the day, where it
is expected to keep policy rates steady after a 100 basis point
cut so far.
The Chinese yuan firmed 0.1%, while the Thai baht
was flat.
Thailand's central bank left its key rate unchanged at a
record low on Wednesday, while it cut its growth forecasts for
this year and next as exports take a hit from the Sino-U.S.
trade war and a strong baht.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0608 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 109.560 109.53 -0.03
Sing dlr 1.355 1.3551 +0.01
Taiwan dlr 30.169 30.233 +0.21
Korean won 1164.300 1168.8 +0.39
Baht 30.200 30.205 +0.02
Peso 50.610 50.65 +0.08
Rupiah 13985.000 13970 -0.11
Rupee 70.880 70.97 +0.13
Ringgit 4.138 4.137 -0.02
Yuan 7.001 7.0055 +0.07
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 109.560 109.56 +0.00
Sing dlr 1.355 1.3627 +0.57
Taiwan dlr 30.169 30.733 +1.87
Korean won 1164.300 1115.70 -4.17
Baht 30.200 32.55 +7.78
Peso 50.610 52.47 +3.68
Rupiah 13985.000 14375 +2.79
Rupee 70.880 69.77 -1.57
Ringgit 4.138 4.1300 -0.19
Yuan 7.001 6.8730 -1.82
(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Rashmi Aich)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.