‘Decade of Emerging Markets’ May Be About to Regain Traction - Bloomberg

‘Decade of Emerging Markets’ May Be About to Regain Traction - Bloomberg

Emerging-market bulls are still upbeat on the asset class, even after China’s highly-touted reopening rally fizzled and proved Wall Street’s early 2023 optimism to be misplaced.

Developing-nation assets stand to finally take off in the second half, they say, as long as global interest rates peak, Chinese authorities prop up growth and structural reforms in India bolster sentiment. A revival may still make this the decade of emerging markets that Morgan Stanley Investment Management flagged earlier this year.

“India, Brazil, China, they don’t have an inflation problem any longer, so they may cut rates faster than the Federal Reserve,” said Xavier Baraton, global chief investment officer at HSBC Asset Management in Paris, on Bloomberg Television. “If you’re looking for true diversification at this time, you’ve got to look into true EM. You’ve got to look into Asia. You’ve got to look into India, which is under-appreciated.”

While the first half of 2023 hasn’t been a disaster for EM investors, it has fallen far short of buoyant forecasts.