MUMBA: Vulnerable emerging Asian currencies weakened and regional shares tumbled to six-week lows on Wednesday as mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials raised prospects for the U.S. central bank to roll back its asset-buying stimulus next month.
Jakarta's Composite Index stumbled 2 percent to a two-month low as the Indonesian rupiah hit its weakest in more than four-and-a-half years. Foreign banks sold the currency despite the central bank's surprise rate hike in the previous session, sending it down as much as 0.7 percent to 11,670 per dollar.