Emerging stocks fall with currencies as oil sinks energy shares
By Bloomberg
Emerging-market stocks fell as commodity producers retreated and Samsung Electronics Co. slid from the highest valuation since 2012. The ruble weakened after oil dropped to a four-year low, while Ukraine’s hryvnia slumped.
The Russian currency depreciated 1.7 percent versus the dollar, extending the biggest slide in emerging markets this year, as the U.S. and U.K. joined the European Union in threatening to tighten sanctions over Ukraine. Brent crude fell 0.6 percent in London and the hyrvnia depreciated 6.3 percent. Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, sank 2.9 percent in Seoul. Brazil’s real fell for the first time in three days.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined 0.4 percent to 993.54 at 12:27 p.m. in London. Crude is extending losses in a bear market amid signs that global supply is outpacing demand. A gauge of energy shares, which are majority Russian and Chinese, decreased the most among 10 industry groups in the developing- nation gauge. The Bank of Russia has abandoned regular interventions to slow the ruble’s decline as it seeks to safeguard foreign-currency reserves.
“The drop in oil prices is affecting exploration and production companies negatively across EM, in Russia it is a key factor,” Tony Hann, the London-based head of emerging markets at Blackfriars Asset Management Ltd., said by e-mail. “We could expect the ruble to stabilize when we see a floor in the oil prices, but who knows when that might be.”
An index tracking developing-country currencies dropped 0.3 percent, the first decline in three days.
Industry Groups
Eight out of 10 industry groups in the emerging-markets index fell, led by energy shares. PetroChina Co. Ltd., the country’s biggest explorer, slid 2.2 percent, while China Oilfield Services Ltd. declined 3.2 percent. West Texas Intermediate for December delivery decreased 0.2 percent. The contract lost 1.6 percent yesterday.
The ruble retreated to 46.6055 per dollar after surging 1.7 percent yesterday. Russia is offering the least short-term loans to banks in a month as policy makers seek to curtail access to cash used to speculate on further drops in the ruble.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki blamed Russia yesterday for continuing to arm separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The currency’s slide is benefiting exporters, with the Micex Index rising 0.8 percent today, set for the highest close in more than a year. Shares in the Czech Republic and Turkey added at least 0.2 percent.
Hryvnia Slumps
Ukraine’s hryvnia weakened the most in since September as bonds and stocks sank after the U.S. and EU warned against a surge of violence in the country’s east. The yield on the sovereign dollar-denominated bonds due July 2017 rose 13 basis points to 16.13 percent.
The premium investors demand to own developing-country debt over U.S. Treasuries narrowed one basis point to 303, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes.
The real weakened 0.4 percent versus the dollar as President Dilma Rousseff considered the composition of her economic team after winning re-election by the narrowest margin since at least 1945. Brazil’s benchmark Ibovespa also fell 0.4 percent.
Samsung decreased the most since Aug. 8, after a 5.1 percent surge in the stock yesterday drove valuations to the highest level since August 2012. DGB Financial Group Inc. tumbled 14 percent in Seoul, the most in the developing-nation gauge, after saying it plans to sell new shares.
China Link
China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped from a three-year high as a rout in mid-cap shares overshadowed a rally by banks. The gauge surged 2.3 percent yesterday on the announcement the Shanghai-Hong Kong exchange link will begin on Nov. 17. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.3 percent.
Indonesian equities gained 1.4 percent on speculation President Joko Widodo will increase regional trade ties and secure enough support from parliament to push through reforms.
South Korea’s won weakened 0.6 percent versus the dollar, while Malaysia’s ringgit depreciated 0.5 percent.
The developing-nation gauge has lost 0.9 percent this year and trades at 11 times projected 12-month earnings, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI World Index has advanced 3.2 percent and is valued at a multiple of 15.2.
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