* Stocks head for best quarterly performance since mid-2010
* China stocks underperform; growth fears weigh
* Turkey, Egypt, Russia Q1 winners in emerging Europe
By Sujata Rao
LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) – End-of-quarter buying and hopes
for increased euro zone bailout resources pushed emerging
equities 1 percent higher on Friday as the sector headed for its
best quarterly performance since mid-2010 and for the strongest
first quarter since 1992.
By 1030 GMT, MSCI’s benchmark emerging equity index was up
0.8 percent, up 13.7 percent on the year, one of the
best performing mainstream asset classes so far this year.
Despite some end-of-quarter buying, the index is ending
March with losses of more than 3.5 percent, weighed down by
losses in China where stocks fell almost 7 percent this month.
Shanghai stocks snapped a three-session losing streak driven
by weak 2011 company earnings but have underperformed
emerging markets with gains of less than 3 percent year-to-date.
China comprises almost a fifth of the MSCI emerging index.
“In China people seem increasingly aware that underlying
fundamentals are not as positive as they seemed,” said John-Paul
Smith, head of EM equity strategy at Deutsche Bank.
Continued…
