Asian financial markets make good start to 2017

Asian currencies have rebounded against the US dollar over the past month, with the Korean won leading the way. For the most part, the recent gains reflect a weak dollar, which has fallen in value against other EM and developed market currencies in recent weeks. Most Asian equity markets have posted healthy gains over the past month. The biggest increases have been in Bangladesh, Singapore and the Philippines, which are all up by over 5%. The last few months have been something of a rollercoaster for the stock market of the Philippines. The market fell sharply in the second half of last year following a flurry of controversial comments from the country’s new president. The recent rebound, however, still leaves the stock market below the all-time high reached in July.