BLBG:Most Emerging Stocks Drop as India Holds Rates, Oil Drops
Most emerging-market stocks dropped, led by banks and oil producers, after India kept interest rates unchanged and Hurricane Sandy stopped U.S. equity trading for a second day. Technology companies advanced.
State Bank of India Ltd. sank 3 percent in Mumbai after the nation’s central bank refrained from cutting borrowing costs to fight price pressures. Chinese energy stocks such as China Oilfield Services Ltd. dropped as oil declined. Technology companies rose after Chimei Innolux Corp. (3481) forecast improving demand for liquid-crystal displays.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) slid less than 0.1 percent to 989.81 at 2:18 p.m. in Hong Kong. The gauge has lost 1.3 percent this month, headed for the largest monthly decline since May. India faces inflation of almost 8 percent, limiting the central bank’s scope to join nations from Brazil to Thailand in extending rate cuts. Equity trading volumes in some Asian markets were lower-than-average as Hurricane Sandy shuttered U.S. stock markets for a second day and sent floodwaters gushing into New York City.
“Trading volumes across the region will be thin as most investors are closely monitoring the impact of the hurricane in the U.S.,” Jessada Sookdhis, chief investment officer at CIMB- Principal Asset Management Co. Ltd. in Bangkok, which has about 20 billion baht ($650 million) of assets, said by phone.
The BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX) lost 1 percent while China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) added 0.1 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex Index jumped 1.3 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok at anguyen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
