LONDON Aug 8 (Reuters) – Emerging stocks were steady on
Wednesday near three-month highs, as gains in Asia on optimism
for further global economic stimulus were offset by weakness in
emerging Europe.
The emerging European equities index dipped
0.4 percent, reflecting investor caution due to uncertainty over
the euro zone’s next moves to tackle its debt crisis, whereas
big Asian markets such as Shanghai, Seoul and
Taipei all finished higher.
In South Africa, the All-Share Johannesburg index extended
gains after closing at a new lifetime high on Monday.
“South Africa is seen as a bit of a safe play,” said Dominik
Garcia, a strategist at Credit Suisse. “Growth is resilient
compared with eastern Europe which is very dependant on Europe.”
Russian shares saw the sharpest fall, sliding 0.5
percent after three days of gains that pushed the index to its
highest in nearly three months. The move shadowed oil prices
which slipped 66 cents a barrel.
The rouble shed 0.50 percent against the dollar.
Political risk continued to weigh on Serbia. The dinar
fell 0.2 percent, staying near record lows after
Standard and Poor’s cut Serbia’s credit rating amid an
escalating crisis over central bank independence.
“(The central bank crisis) will put further downward
pressure on the dinar already affected by contagion risks from
the euro zone crisis, political uncertainty and risks to the
fiscal outlook,” Societe Generale analysts said in a note.
The Polish zloty lost 0.4 percent against the
euro, edging further off one-year highs hit earlier this week.
The Hungarian forint shed 0.36 against the euro.
Continued…
