(Bloomberg) — Emerging-market stocks posted the biggest weekly retreat of the year as investors weighed the timing of U.S. interest-rate increases.
United Co. Rusal fell to the lowest in 2015, driving a slide in the dollar-denominated RTS Index of Russian stocks. The ruble fell 1.7 percent today as the central bank cut interest rates. Indian equities dropped as some investors saw recent gains as excessive. The Ibovespa fell for a second day amid union protests in Brazil. A gauge of developing-nation currencies slid to a record on speculation that higher U.S. rates will encourage investors to sell developing-nation assets.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.9 percent to 939.56 in New York, extending its decline this week to 3.3 percent, as investors await a Federal Reserve meeting next week that may offer clues on the timing of rate increases. The benchmark measure has retreated 1.8 percent this year. U.S. oil futures capped their biggest weekly slump since December as inventories grew.
South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. tumbled 4.4 percent to the lowest price this year after GlaxoSmithKline Plc sold part of its stake at a discount. Lenovo dropped 4.2 percent, the most since Nov. 7, after Intel Corp. lowered its sales guidance.
All 10 industry groups in the developing-nation gauge slid this week, led by energy companies. The measure trades at 11.5 times projected 12-month earnings compared with 16.4 times for the MSCI World Index of developed-nation stocks, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The premium investors demand to hold emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries increased two basis points to 366 basis points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes.
