Equities in Taiwan and South Korea scaled record peaks on Tuesday, fuelled by AI-related inflows, while stocks in the Philippines wavered and the peso slipped after Fitch revised its outlook for the country to "negative" on growth risks.
Stocks in emerging Asia jumped 1.3% to a near eight-week high, driven by two major index constituents.
South Korean equities hit a record high for the first time since the Iran war began, while those in Taiwan, reached an all-time high. Both were up more than 2%.
An MSCI gauge of global emerging-market stocks was also at its highest since late February, and just a few points shy of its record peak.
Investors took heart from reports that Iran was considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, even as an uneasy ceasefire and rhetoric between Tehran and Washington remained an overhang.
"Markets are currently priced for de-escalation. But any escalation, particularly military action around Hormuz, could trigger a renewed spike in oil prices and a broad risk off move," MUFG analysts wrote.
In the Philippines, stocks erased early gains to trade flat, while its currency, the peso, inched lower to 59.927 per U.S. dollar.
Credit ratings agency Fitch on Monday revised the Philippines' outlook to "negative" from "stable", citing risks to medium-term growth from disrupted public investment and the country's high exposure to the global energy shock.
"The peso's decline today largely reflects broad dollar strength and some position adjustment, alongside import-related dollar demand," said Ruben Carlo Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines.
"Fitch's shift to a negative outlook may have added mild sentiment pressure, but its immediate impact on Philippine assets appears limited, with markets still more attuned to global developments," he said.
The Philippine central bank on Thursday is expected to stand pat on rates as policymakers look past supply-driven price pressures from a global oil shock, according to a Reuters poll.
Indonesia's rupiah appreciated to as much as 17,100 a dollar before slipping back to 17,145.
Stocks in Jakarta tumbled to their lowest in six sessions after global index provider MSCI extended its review of the stock market by a month to assess reforms announced by Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
"The extension keeps Indonesian equities in wait-and-see mode ... market had already priced in caution after MSCI's January warning, so this mainly prolongs uncertainty rather than triggering fresh selling," Asuncion said.
Focus now turns to Bank Indonesia's policy meeting on Wednesday. All of the economists polled by Reuters expect the central bank to keep its interest rate unchanged, while nearly two-thirds of them expect no change through the year.
In South Korea, chipmaker SK Hynix climbed as much as 5.2% to an all-time high, while rival Samsung Electronics rose as much as 2.6%, leading index gains on robust export data and optimism ahead of corporate earnings.
In Taiwan, TSMC, the world's top contract chipmaker, jumped 2.5%.
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