Credit: REUTERS/MURAD SEZERBy Aaron Saldanha
May 24 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks rose on Friday, licking their wounds after the previous day's losses, while developing world currencies firmed the most in two weeks against a softer dollar.
Investors tip-toed back into the developing world, upping exposure to risky assets which were walloped on Thursday as capital made a dash for the exits on rising U.S.-China trade fears. MKTS/GLOBFRX/
"Investors are largely neutral on EM, this is because most investors seem to have a fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) mentality," Min Dai, Morgan Stanley's head of Asia Rates and FX Strategy, wrote in a note.
"The risks to a neutral view are that investors could be dragged in either direction if the market moves, exacerbating the volatility."
MSCI's index of developing world stocks .MSCIEF rose 0.3%, with Chinese blue-chip shares .CSI300 matching that gain. MSCI's emerging market currencies index .MIEM00000CUS added 0.2%.
Turkey's lira TRY= ticked 0.1% firmer, while stocks .XU100 rose 1%, trimming their degree of underperformance relative to the MSCI developing world equities benchmark.
Higher oil prices underpinned a 0.4% firming in Russia's rouble RUB= as it lifted off Thursday's eight-day closing low, while rising energy stocks pushed the Russian index .IMOEX 0.6% higher.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.9%, making back a fraction of Thursday's 4.6% slide, which was their worst loss in about five months. O/R
South Africa's rand ZAR= was 0.6% stronger. The country's central bank kept lending rates unchanged at 6.75% on Thursday in a decision that divided policymakers.
While inflation and inflation expectations were close to the middle of the central bank's 3% to 6% target range, they had not yet settled there.
South African stocks .JTOPI added 0.4%, although Old Mutual Ltd OMUJ.J fell about 1%.
The country's No.2 insurer said its chief executive had been suspended following a "material breakdown in trust" between him and the board.
Stocks in Warsaw .WIG20 traded 0.8% higher. PKN Orlen PKN.WA rose 1.2% after Morgan Stanley boosted its rating on Poland's biggest oil refiner to "overweight" from "equal-weight".
The broker said the disruption of crude exports from Russia appears to be short-lived and Poland may start receiving clean crude on June 9.
For TOP NEWS across emerging markets
For CENTRAL EUROPE market report, see CEE/
For TURKISH market report, see .IS
For RUSSIAN market report, see RU/RUB
Rebased performance of select indexes in the one month through Thursday https://tmsnrt.rs/2Er65k4
(Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru; Editing by Catherine Evans)
((Aaron.Saldanha@thomsonreuters.com; +91 80 6749 1130; Reuters Messaging: Aaron.Saldanha@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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