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By Bloomberg

Emerging-market stocks rose for the first time in three days as Chinese equities returned to a seven-year high and construction companies led gains in Dubai. Russia’s ruble weakened for a fourth day.

Kweichow Moutai Co. jumped to a record after reporting better-than-estimated earnings, helping the Shanghai Composite Index advance 1.8 percent. Union Properties PJSC surged 11 percent in Dubai, pushing the benchmark gauge to its highest level since December. The Micex Index headed for a six-week high in Moscow, while the ruble slid after the central bank curbed the supply of cheap dollars to banks.

Optimism that China will step up stimulus to revive an economy growing at the slowest pace since 2009 has propelled Shanghai shares to a 34 percent rally since January. The country’s central bank will lower the rate on reverse-repurchase agreements, according to a Bloomberg survey. In Dubai, valuations a fourth lower than the record high lured investors.

“Emerging-market stocks are rallying on China easing expectations and also a strong close to the U.S. markets yesterday,” Michael Wang, a London-based strategist at Amiya Capital LLP, a hedge fund investing in developing countries, said by e-mail. “It is a delayed reaction to the various easing announcements from China.”

The People’s Bank of China lowered the proportion of deposits that major banks must set aside as reserves by 1 percentage point effective Monday, which Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. estimated would add some 1.2 trillion yuan ($193 billion) to the financial system. The reserve-ratio cut follows two benchmark interest-rate reductions since November and an easing of home-purchase rules.

Stronger Momentum

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.7 percent to 1,041.27 at 1:24 p.m. in London, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.9 percent on Monday. The developing-nation gauge has rallied 8.9 percent this year. Its relative strength index, a measure of price-change momentum, crossed the threshold of 70 this month for the first time since July, reflecting the rebound from two years of losses.

The Shanghai Composite rose to the highest level since March 2008, extending its April gains to 15 percent. Kweichow Moutai jumped after its 2014 profit showed the maker of China’s renown fiery liquor weathered the government’s campaigns against graft and lavish spending. Train makers CSR Corp. and China CNR Corp. tumbled 10 percent after Citigroup Inc. called their advances a bubble.

China Mobile Ltd. jumped 7.5 percent in Hong Kong after adding more subscribers to its fourth-generation service. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index halted a two-day drop.

Construction Companies

The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 0.7 percent to a four-month high, paced by gains in Union Properties and Deyaar Development PJSC.

The ruble lost 0.7 percent to 53.71 per dollar taking the four-day retreat to 7.5 percent. Declines accelerated on Monday after the Bank of Russia raised the rate it charges banks for foreign currency at repurchase-agreement auctions for the third time in less than a month, curbing potential gains from reinvesting the cash in government debt.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. plunged 8.9 percent in Mumbai after Daiichi Sankyo Co. began a sale of its stake in the Indian drugmaker. India’s S&P BSE Sensex index lost 0.8 percent, the fifth day of declines.

The MSCI emerging-market gauge trades at 12.5 times projected earnings of its members, compared with a multiple of 16.9 for an index of developed-nation equities, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The premium investors demand to own emerging-market debt rather than U.S. Treasuries widened three basis points to 358, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes.