{"id":65315,"date":"2026-07-23T22:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/southeast-asian-equities-slump-as-global-trade-and-tech-shifts-accelerate\/65315\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T22:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:38:20","slug":"southeast-asian-equities-slump-as-global-trade-and-tech-shifts-accelerate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/southeast-asian-equities-slump-as-global-trade-and-tech-shifts-accelerate\/65315\/","title":{"rendered":"Southeast Asian Equities Slump as Global Trade and Tech Shifts Accelerate"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Philippine and Indonesian equity benchmarks plunged<\/strong> as much as <strong>1.5%<\/strong> and <strong>1.4%<\/strong> respectively, hitting multi-week lows amid severe currency depreciation and foreign capital outflows.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China launched its &quot;Xingshu&quot; (Star Hub) network<\/strong>, a massive 1,000-satellite constellation designed for <strong>orbital AI computing<\/strong>, intensifying the space-tech race with Western rivals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japan\u2019s Trade Ministry confirmed a tariff cap<\/strong> with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, ensuring that new U.S. levies will not exceed the <strong>15% threshold<\/strong> established in previous bilateral agreements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Philippine Peso hit a fresh record low of 61.84 per dollar<\/strong>, triggering immediate intervention from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to stabilize the currency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Indonesia faces potential market reclassification<\/strong> as S&amp;P <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> and MSCI warn of a downgrade to &quot;frontier market&quot; status due to liquidity and free-float concerns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2>Southeast Asian Markets Under Pressure<\/h2>\n<p>Equities in Manila and Jakarta faced heavy selling pressure during Friday&#39;s early trade. The <strong>Philippines&#39; benchmark PSEi<\/strong> declined <strong>1.5% to 6,189.23 points<\/strong>, its weakest level since early July. This retreat was largely driven by a sharp sell-off in index heavyweights such as International Container Terminal Services (<a href=\"\/stock\/ICTSI\">ICTSI<\/a>), which plunged <strong>3.9%<\/strong>, and BDO Unibank (<a href=\"\/stock\/BDO\">BDO<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><em>Market sentiment remains fragile as the Philippine peso continues its descent against the greenback.<\/em> The currency&#39;s drop to <strong>61.84 per dollar<\/strong> has revived fears of imported inflation, particularly as global <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a> remain elevated. Analysts at Regina Capital Development Corp. noted that investors are aggressively booking profits as the index struggles to maintain the <strong>6,300 technical threshold<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In Indonesia, the <strong>Jakarta Composite Index (JCI)<\/strong> dropped <strong>1.4% to 6,227.406 points<\/strong>. The decline follows a period of intense scrutiny from global index providers. Both <strong>MSCI<\/strong> and <strong>S&amp;P Dow Jones<\/strong> have issued warnings regarding Indonesia&#39;s market accessibility, citing &quot;opacity in shareholding structures&quot; and &quot;coordinated trading behavior&quot; as risks that could lead to a downgrade from emerging to frontier market status.<\/p>\n<h2>China&#39;s &quot;Star Hub&quot; Challenges Orbital Frontier<\/h2>\n<p>While terrestrial markets struggled, China moved forward with its ambitious <strong>Xingshu (Star Hub)<\/strong> space-based computing network. The project, led by <strong>Fudan University<\/strong> and <strong>Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan Space Technology<\/strong>, aims to deploy <strong>1,000 satellites<\/strong> capable of processing data directly in orbit.<\/p>\n<p>By utilizing <strong>on-orbit AI processing<\/strong>, the network reduces the need to transmit massive raw datasets to Earth, significantly lowering latency for sectors like shipping, finance, and disaster management. This development positions China as a direct competitor to <strong>SpaceX<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPACEX\">PRIVATE<\/a>), which has also been exploring orbital data centers following its merger with xAI.<\/p>\n<h2>Japan Secures Tariff Protections<\/h2>\n<p>On the diplomatic front, Japan\u2019s Trade Ministry announced it has received assurances from U.S. Commerce Secretary <strong>Howard Lutnick<\/strong> regarding trade stability. The ministry confirmed that the burden on Japanese exporters will not exceed the terms of last year\u2019s deal, despite the U.S. implementing new <strong>10% to 12.5% tariffs<\/strong> on 60 trading partners due to forced labor concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Tokyo had expressed &quot;regret&quot; over being included in the broad U.S. tariff list, but the confirmation of a <strong>15% cap<\/strong> provides a level of certainty for Japanese automakers and industrial giants. This agreement is part of a broader <strong>$550 billion investment program<\/strong> pledged by Japan to support U.S. energy and semiconductor sectors in exchange for tariff relief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Philippine and Indonesian equity benchmarks plunged as much as 1.5% and 1.4% respectively, hitting multi-week lows amid severe 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