* Stocks down 0.9 pct to one-wk low; China also weighs
* Lira heads into intervention territory on oil, deficit
* Emerging dollar bonds outperform Treasuries
By Sujata Rao
LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) – Emerging equities fell for the
fourth straight trading session on Tuesday, feeling the heat
from U.S. bond yields’ rise to nearly five-month highs, while
the Turkish lira fell further towards levels at which the
central bank tends to intervene, and China earnings jitters took
their toll.
By 1100 GMT, MSCI’s benchmark emerging equities
fell 0.9 percent to a one-week low. The index, which rose
sharply in the first two months of 2012, has lost 2.5 percent in
March.
While fears of widespread damage to Europe’s financial
system from the Greek debt crisis have abated, a stream of
robust U.S. economic data has reduced the chances of more
monetary easing and pushed up U.S. Treasury yields.
The U.S. government debt market last week suffered its worst
week since June 2011, with 10-year yields touching 4-1/2 month
highs on Monday.
“Emerging markets are a bit weaker, the rise in U.S. bond
yields is having a role. The fact that we had U.S. bond yields
rising last night may be a bit worrying,” said Murat Toprak,
emerging markets strategist at HSBC in London.
Continued…
