Emerging Markets - Asian currencies set for weekly declines but stocks rise on Fed rate cut hopes

MANILA (Reuters): Emerging Asian currencies held largely steady on Friday, but were on track to post weekly losses, while regional equities tracked Wall Street higher after a big drop in US retail sales firmed expectations of a June rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Stocks in Singapore rose as much as 1.4% to hit their highest in more than a month, while Malaysian equities advanced 0.4% to touch a level unseen since June 2022. South Korea and India rose 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively.