Emerging market stocks rebound with currencies as metals advance
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 0.7% to 928.85 at 9.52am in London, trimming this week’s decline to 3.1%
~Stephen Kirkland  and   Pratish Narayanan

London/Singapore, Fri, Aug 23 2013: Emerging-market stocks rose for the first time in seven days and currencies from India’s rupee to the Turkish lira rebounded. Metals gained while European stocks and US equity-index futures were little changed.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 0.7% to 928.85 at 9.52am in London, trimming this week’s decline to 3.1%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained less than 0.1% and the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.1%. The rupee and the lira rallied from record lows. The yen weakened on speculation Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda will reiterate the case for unprecedented monetary easing at the Federal Reserve’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Copper advanced 0.5%.

Fed Bank of Dallas president Richard Fisher said on Thursday the US economy is strong enough to slow the pace of stimulus, while European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said good economic news removed the need for further interest-rate cuts. Countries from India to Indonesia signalled they will take steps to support financial markets and Brazil announced a $60 billion intervention programme involving currency swaps and loans.

“Emerging markets should remain very volatile for the remainder of this year as governments try to restore investor confidence and stem capital outflows,” Vana Bulbon, chief executive officer at UOB Asset Management (Thailand) Co. Ltd, which manages about $6.4 billion, said in Bangkok. The global outlook has been improving led by growth in the US, while economies in Europe and China have bottomed out.

Worst week

The MSCI gauge of shares from 21 developing countries rebounded as its worst week in two months drove shares to a six-week low. About $1.5 trillion has been erased from the value of emerging-market equities since US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said on 22 May policy makers could scale back bond buying.
Benchmark equity gauges in India and South Korea gained more than 1%. The rupee climbed 0.3% against the dollar and the lira added 0.6%. The Thai baht advanced 0.4% and the Malaysian ringgit strengthened 0.3%, rebounding from three-year lows.

The Stoxx 600 has fallen 1.1% this week, its biggest decline in two months. A gauge of personal and household goods companies posted the largest retreat of the 19 industry groups in the index as L’Oreal SA and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA both dropped 1.3%.
Afren Plc slipped 3.1% after the oil explorer reported that its profit after tax decreased 39% to $62 million in the first half.

Home sales

S&P 500 futures slipped before a report that may show sales of new houses in the world’s largest economy fell last month. The commerce department release, due at 10am in Washington, will show that Americans bought 487,000 new residential properties at an annual rate in July, compared with 497,000 in June, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Japan’s currency weakened 0.2% to 98.95 per dollar and 132.10 per euro. The 17-nation common currency was little changed at $1.3348. South Africa’s rand rose against all of its 16 major peers, climbing most against the Canadian dollar.

The pound added 0.2% to $1.5619 after a report showed UK gross domestic product increased 0.7% in the second quarter, exceeding an initial estimate of 0.6%.
Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 2.89%, up six basis points in the week. Bloomberg

Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok, Emma O’Brien in Wellington, Adam Haigh and John McCluskey in Sydney, Claudia Carpenter, Paul Dobson, Will Hadfield and Shelley Smith in London contributed to this story.

Courtesy: Live Mint