LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – Emerging stocks were steady on
Friday as concerns about the euro zone debt crisis dampened risk
appetite and a drop in oil prices hurt Russian stocks, while the
South African rand continued to weaken after an unexpected
interest rate cut.
MSCI’s emerging equity index was down just 0.07
percent at 940.48, giving up brief early gains as concerns over
Spain’s financial situation continued to weigh on global risk
appetite, dampening demand for emerging market assets.
The index, however, was poised for a weekly gain after
falling 2 percent last week.
“Sentiment has been relatively benign in recent days, and
today we see a bit of risk-off mood, which means most EMs are
under pressure. But it’s not really news driven,” said Thu Lan
Nguyen, emerging market strategist at commerzbank in Frankfurt.
“The periphery (euro zone) countries are a concern but
that’s nothing new.”
Russian stocks fell 0.73 percent as the price of
oil, Russia’s chief export, slipped toward $107 a barrel after
its near 18 percent rally over four weeks prompted profit
taking.
Chinese stocks fell 0.74 percent for their fifth
weekly loss, driven by weakness in growth stocks.
The rand weakened 0.3 percent against the dollar, after
sliding 0.2 percent on Thursday following the central bank’s
surprise move to cut interest rates to a record low 5 percent to
support the economy.
Analysts though said the rand’s weakness was more a
reflection of concerns about confidence in the global economy
than a reaction to the rate cut.
Continued…
