* Emerging stocks rise over 1 pct, debt spreads tighten
* Hungary stocks, forint bounce from lows
* Polish zloty rallies more than 1 pct
By Philip Baillie
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) – Emerging markets rose on
Thursday, reversing losses made in the previous session, as
investors expected private holders of Greek debt to agree a
voluntary restructuring needed to avoid a messy default, and the
optimistic mood also boosted debt-laden Hungary.
There has been a strong take-up of Greece’s bond swap offer
by private investors ahead of a 2000 GMT deadline for acceptance
of the deal, a Greek government official said, a key element in
an 130 billion euro ($170.57 billion) second bailout for the
indebted euro zone country.
MSCI’s benchmark emerging markets index gained 1.1
percent, recouping losses from a three-day downward session, as
investors became more comfortable about buying riskier assets.
“Even though you can say sometimes that the market is tired
of this Greek story, it remains one of the key factors,” said
Murat Toprak, emerging FX strategist at HSBC.
“Yesterday there was a sell-off because there were question
marks about PSI (private sector involvement), now there is talk
that the PSI threshold of 75 percent is going to be crossed,
that is impacting emerging markets in a positive way.”
Continued…
