* Stocks up 1 pct, ECB’s LTRO continues to boost
* South African stocks at record high
* Emerging debt spreads narrowest since November
By Alessandra Prentice
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Emerging markets jumped to a
five-month high for a second day on Thursday, as successful euro
zone debt auctions further whetted risk appetite, while the
Polish zloty touched a new multi-month peak buoyed by data this
week pointing to solid growth for 2012.
Upbeat U.S., Chinese and German factory output figures this
week also provided a boost to riskier emerging stocks, which
have gained more than 13 percent since the start of the year.
Commodity-rich South Africa’s All-share index leapt to the
highest in its 17-year history, driven by booming mining stocks.
A long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) from the European
Central Bank, which provided cheap money to euro zone banks in
December, continues to benefit emerging markets, said Luis
Costa, emerging markets strategist at Citi.
“It’s a liquidity rally, we are still seeing the
implications of the LTRO. The higher this liquidity supply, the
better it is for risky assets, and emerging markets are included
in that,” Costa said.
Continued…
