By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Debt-laden Argentina posted the best stocks returns of the quarter while Angola’s bonds outperformed all others as 2020 continues to defy expectations among emerging markets.
For the year, the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lockdowns continue to cast a shadow on the second half that extends beyond emerging economies.
In terms of currencies, Taiwan and the Philippines have strengthened the most against the dollar so far this year, but it was Indonesia that powered on in the second quarter. Argentina’s capital controls are masking what should be a deeper depreciation of its currency.
For a graphic on EM currencies performance:
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xlbvgojnbvq/EMcurrencies2Q.png
The estimated $l8 trillion deployed globally in fiscal and monetary stimulus helped keep interest rates anchored near zero in the developed world, forcing yield seekers far out into the EM universe. China has seen its bonds perform the best throughout the year while Angola, which suffered a massive selloff in the first quarter, gave risky investors the top return over the past three months.
For a graphic on EM bonds performance:
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xegpbmjkjvq/EMbonds2Q.png
Argentina’s capital controls have kept the currency artificially strong, but betting on its dollar-denominated stocks was a strong move as they returned the most for any EM this quarter.
For a graphic on MSCI EM stock performance in second quarter:
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/jbyvrrmjrve/EMstocks2Q.png
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
