EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks at 6-week low, Chinese property bonds slammed by default woes

  • 10/5/2021
  • 00:00
  • 11
  • 0
  • 0
news-picture

* Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent fall * Rouble leads EMEA losses, Russian stocks at record high * Romanian, Polish c.banks awaited * Fantasia, Kaisa bonds among worst hit (Adds details on Chinese property bonds, updates prices) Oct 5 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks hit a six-week low on Tuesday as a U.S. technology rout spilled over, while dollar bonds of Chinese property developers tumbled on deepening concerns over widespread defaults in the sector. Dollar-denominated bonds of mid-sized property developers Kaisa Group and Fantasia Holdings slumped between 10 to 11 cents, leading losses among their peers as concerns over a default drove a slew of ratings downgrades. Fantasia in particular was downgraded by Fitch, Moody’s and S&P after the firm missed a debt repayment deadline on Monday. Focus also remained on China’s no. 2 property developer, Evergrande, as it struggles to clear its massive $300 billion debt pile. Stock markets were reeling from a steep Monday sell down in U.S. technology shares, with Hong Kong-listed Baidu Inc , Alibaba Group and Tencent, some of the largest emerging market (EM) stocks, down between 1% to 1.5%. MSCI’s EM stock benchmark fell 0.2%, while the tech-heavy South Korean index slumped 1.9%. Rising U.S. Treasury yields weighed on most EM currencies, with Russia’s rouble leading losses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with a 0.4% decline against the dollar. Russia’s finance ministry said it will only slightly increase its foreign exchange purchases in October, easing some pressure on the rouble which was also struggling to draw support from a spike in oil prices to around three-year highs after OPEC+ said it would stick to plans to increase supply only gradually. But Russian stocks rallied 1.4% to a record high, leading gains in the EMEA region as oil and gas heavyweights benefited from the higher crude prices. Gazprom rose 1.7%. Investors fear that a jump in commodity prices will feed inflation and disrupt economic activity, particularly in emerging markets. “While tech led the decline, the sell-off was ubiquitous with only energy and utilities showing gains. - And for obvious reasons as the surge in energy prices was fuelling fears of at least disruptive inflation if not outright stagflation,” analysts at Mizuho wrote in a note. “‘Twin deficit’ and/or high inflation EM currencies vulnerable to higher energy import cost, may be subject to restraint or worse depreciation despite a weaker dollar.” Global economies have struggled with a spike in inflation this year, driven by rising commodity prices and as the withdrawal of COVID-related curbs spurred a rebound in economic activity. Several EM central banks have begun rate-hike cycles this year, in response to rising prices. Investors are now awaiting a potential hike in Romania later in the day, while Poland"s central bank is also expected to raise rates this week. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2021, see tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2021, see tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX For TOP NEWS across emerging markets For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see For TURKISH market report, see For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Ambar Warrick, editing by Ed Osmond, Kirsten Donovan)

مشاركة :