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Emerging stocks heading for fourth weekly loss as ringgit slumps

14 August 2015 09:10 (UTC+04:00)
Emerging stocks heading for fourth weekly loss as ringgit slumps

By Bloomberg

Emerging-nation stocks headed for a fourth weekly decline, led by technology and energy shares, as investors weighed the impact of the yuan devaluation that’s roiled markets. Malaysia’s ringgit tumbled the most since 1998.

Wistron Corp. plunged 8.9 percent in Taipei, leading losses in a gauge of technology companies, after Daiwa Securities Co. downgraded the stock following second-quarter earnings that missed forecasts. SapuraKencana Petroleum fell to a record low in Kuala Lumpur as oil extended losses, while Malaysia’s benchmark index slumped to a three-year low. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent after the government signaled its support for the yuan.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slid 0.2 percent to 863.28 at 1:05 p.m. in Hong Kong, extending this week’s decline to 2.5 percent. The People’s Bank of China’s yuan fixing strengthened after the currency slid at least 1.1 percent in each of the last three days. Investors pulled money from emerging-market equity funds for a fifth straight week, according to a report from EPFR Global.

“Foreign investors are worried and selling emerging-market stocks, and concern over the weaker yuan is also sending Asian currencies lower this week,” said Thebes Lo, Hong Kong-based vice president at Kim Eng Securities Ltd.

Ringgit Tumbles

The developing-nation gauge has fallen 9.7 percent this year and trades at 11.1 times projected 12-month earnings, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI World Index has gained 1.9 percent in 2015 and is valued at a multiple of 16.2.

The ringgit tumbled 2 percent. The country’s central-bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said Thursday that the authority will need to rebuild foreign-exchange reserves that have fallen below $100 billion for the first time since 2010.

Better-than-expected Malaysian economic data on Thursday failed to dispel the gloom as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index slid 1.9 percent. The measure has slumped 5.2 percent this week, heading for the worst weekly loss since 2008.

Six out of 10 industry groups in the emerging-markets measure fell. Wistron dropped to the lowest level since November 2008. The company’s quarterly profits were “much worse than expected,” according to Daiwa, which said progress in Wistron’s smartphone business could “remain slow.”

SapuraKencana Petroleum, Malaysia’s largest oil and gas services provider, declined to a record low. Crude headed for the longest run of weekly losses since January amid signs the global glut that’s driven prices to the lowest in six years will be prolonged.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland-listed companies rose 0.2 percent while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent. Equity indexes in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia fell at least 0.3 percent. South Korea is closed for a holiday.

Indonesia’s rupiah fell 0.1 percent, while the Philippine peso lost 0.2 percent.

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