Money Managers Say It’s Time to Get Picky in Emerging Markets

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market investors are turning more selective as last year’s everything rally splinters under the weight of higher inflation expectations.

Exposure to U.S. growth and the impact from higher commodity prices are some of the criteria used by money managers from JPMorgan Asset Management to State Street Corp. Mexico, South Africa and Taiwan rank among the top choices as firms pare back their bullish bets for developing-nation assets, according to recent surveys.

“There is still meaningful scope to generate returns within EM as long as investors are able to differentiate,” said Tai Hui, chief Asia market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Hong Kong.

Investor enthusiasm toward emerging-market assets has waned this year as Covid-19 infections engulf nations from India to Brazil while Treasury yields push higher amid rising price pressures. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has slid almost 10% since its mid-February high and the Bloomberg Barclays EM Local Currency Government Bond Index is down 1.6% from its January peak.

U.S. Exposure

With a strong recovery in the world’s largest economy set to drive global growth this year, investors are looking for ways to piggy-back on that trend.

That makes Mexican, Taiwanese and South Korean equities attractive given their strong ties to the U.S., said Shaniel Ramjee, a senior investment manager at Pictet Asset Management in London, who helps manage $252 billion.

The Mexican stock benchmark has climbed 12% this year, easily beating the 1% rise in MSCI’s index of developing-nation shares. The South Korean and Taiwanese equivalents are also outperforming, though the latter saw a steep selloff last week amid jitters over a Covid-19 outbreak and pricey tech stocks.

Tech Dominance Haunts Taiwan in Global Selloff: Taking Stock

Commodity Surge

The connection to commodity prices is also boosting the Mexican peso, said Emily Weis, a macro strategist at State Street in Boston. A combination of stimulus measures, vaccine rollouts and supply shortages has pushed everything from copper to lumber and iron ore to multiyear highs or records.

“Improving commodity prices are still a net positive for EM commodities currencies given the sheer percentage of exports,” Weis said.

The Russian ruble and South African rand also stand to benefit from the commodities rebound, according to Pictet’s Ramjee. The rand is the top emerging-market currency year-to-date thanks in part to South Africa’s exports of metals like platinum and iron ore, while the ruble has benefited from Russia’s oil exposure.

But perhaps nowhere is the power of the commodity boom more on display than Brazil, where exports of soybeans and iron ore have boosted the real.

Other nations haven’t been so lucky. Currencies in Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Turkey -- countries with some of the biggest increases in virus infections globally -- are among the worst performers in emerging markets this year.

Yield Spike

Some investors say they’re sticking with local currency-denominated bonds that may be more insulated from American monetary policy.

“Local markets are becoming more attractive,” said Shamaila Khan, the head of emerging-market debt at AllianceBernstein in New York, singling out South African, Russian and Mexican local bonds as among the most appealing. “Selectively, we are finding value.”

Rate Calls

• The People’s Bank of China added 100 billion yuan ($15.5 billion) of one-year funds with its medium-term lending facility on Monday, matching the amount coming due in a move that was expected by analysts. The authorities kept the interest rate unchanged at 2.95%

  • China’s recovery was a mixed bag in April, with industrial output and investment buoyed by strong exports and a hot property market, while retail sales missed forecasts, data on Monday showed
  • The PBOC will publish the one-year and five-year loan prime rates on Thursday
  • The yuan has gained more than 1% this year
• South Africa will probably keep its interest rate unchanged on Thursday amid an imminent third wave of Covid-19 infections
  • Data on Wednesday will probably show the nation’s headline consumer-price index rose 4.3% in April from a year earlier, though that’s still below the 4.5% midpoint of its target range this quarter
  • Read: Key African Central Banks May Hold Rates on Growth Concerns
• Hungarian central bank Deputy Governor Barnabas Virag said Monday that surging prices will be met by tighter monetary policy as soon as next month -- sparking gains in the forint

Chile Votes

• Chilean assets plunged after the ruling coalition suffered a crushing electoral defeat that placed the writing of a new constitution largely in the hands of left-wing parties. The assembly makeup could make it harder to block major changes to the charter as independent and opposition left-wing parties will have more more sway
• The yield on the nation’s dollar bond due in 2050 rose almost 8 basis points to 3.49% at 10:21 a.m. in New York. Meantime, the currency sank as much as 2.2% as investors quickly shifted positioning to account for increasing political uncertainty
• Chile’s first-quarter gross domestic product data on Tuesday will be an indication if economic recovery is on track, with the consensus of economists surveyed by Bloomberg expecting a 0.5% increase from a year earlier

Biden-Moon Meeting

• U.S. President Joe Biden will meet his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on Friday, with North Korea high on the agenda. Moon will be only the second foreign leader since Biden’s inauguration to visit the White House
• South Korea’s won posted the worst decline in Asia this past month

Data and Events

• Thailand’s economic contraction continued into the start of year, setting the stage for a further slump as the country now faces its worst wave of Covid-19 cases

  • Gross domestic product in the first quarter shrank 2.6% from a year earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Council said Monday, compared with a median estimate of -3.3% in a Bloomberg survey and improving from the prior quarter’s 4.2% contraction
  • Thailand will publish customs trade figures on Friday. The weaker baht may have improved the competitiveness of the country’s exports, which rose 8.5% in March from a year earlier
• The Philippines’ overseas workers’ remittances, a key source of foreign exchange, rose 4.9% in March, less than economists’ forecast
• Indonesia will announce April trade figures on Thursday
• Taiwan’s export orders for April are due on Thursday. The Taiwan dollar has outpaced all of its Asian peers this year amid buoyant demand for semiconductors
• Russia’s 1Q GDP reading on Monday could beat consensus, with a slowing virus outbreak and rising oil output, according to Bloomberg Economics
  • The ruble has topped most peers in the past month
• A reading of Peru’s March economic activity on Monday and first-quarter GDP data Thursday will probably show that the nation is recovering even as growth remains below pre-pandemic levels
  • Peru’s presidential candidates are virtually tied in a mock election carried out by pollster Ipsos
• In Argentina, Bloomberg Economics expects a Thursday reading of March activity to show a near-recovery of February’s decline following the relaxation of several pandemic-induced restrictions
  • The peso is the worst currency in Latin America this year
• Mexico will post its March retail sales on Friday, which traders will monitor for signs of recovering household demand
• Brazil’s Senate is set to continue its probe into the handling of the Covid-19 crisis, which could impact the political and electoral outlook, according to Bloomberg Economics. Any developments on tax reform plans will also be a key driver
  • The real, which outperformed all its regional peers over the past month, could see even more support as local investors trim long-standing bets against the currency

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