{"id":8705,"date":"2026-01-02T11:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=8705"},"modified":"2026-01-02T11:00:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T11:00:30","slug":"tech-surge-propels-emerging-market-stocks-towards-five-year-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=8705","title":{"rendered":"Tech surge propels emerging-market stocks towards five-year high"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Emerging-market (EM) stocks posted a strong start to 2026 on Friday following a $7.2 trillion annual rally.<\/p>\n

This as Asia\u2019s expanding role in artificial intelligence lifted Chinese technology shares to their biggest gains since September and pushed benchmarks in South Korea and Taiwan to record highs.<\/p>\n

Listen\/read:<\/p>\n

Investment notes from AI land [Nov 2025]<\/div>\n
Burry vs the AI establishment:\u00a0A bubble, or just fizz? [Dec 2025]<\/div>\n

MSCI Inc\u2019s index of developing-nation equities rose 1.6% in London just after 9am on Friday, reaching its highest level since February 2021. That put the gauge a little more than 20 points, or 1.6%, short of its all-time high.<\/p>\n

Emerging-market stocks posted their biggest annual rally since 2017 last year, outperforming the S&P 500 Index, as AI shares and gold miners drove the advance.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Gold, platinum and silver\u00a0smash records again\u00a0[Dec 2025]<\/p>\n

Currencies made a muted start, with the main index slipping 0.1%.<\/p>\n

\n

South Africa\u2019s rand led EM peers, while China\u2019s yuan rose to the highest level since May 2023 in the offshore market.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Traders remained focused on expectations for US Federal Reserve easing, with money markets predicting the US central bank\u2019s next interest-rate cut only by June.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Emerging markets are witnessing a\u00a0wave of optimism\u00a0after 2025 gains as global investors increasingly shift away from US assets and tout improving fiscal and monetary metrics in developing nations.<\/p>\n

Some of the key factors dominating the new year are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • China\u2019s economic trajectory;<\/li>\n
  • US Federal Reserve policy;<\/li>\n
  • US dollar moves; and<\/li>\n
  • Concerns around AI valuations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    US President Donald Trump\u2019s trade and geopolitical decisions form the sentiment backdrop, while prospects for rate cuts by local central banks drive selective bets.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe strategic importance of EM technology leaders is structural, and the broader environment points to continued diversification away from highly concentrated and expensive developed markets,\u201d said Varun Laijawalla, a portfolio manager at Ninety One plc in a December interview.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWith the US accounting for roughly two-thirds of global equity indices, even modest reallocations can translate into meaningful inflows into emerging markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \"Emerging<\/p>\n

    Source: Bloomberg<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Friday\u2019s move put the EM stocks index on course for a sixth successive day of gains, its longest streak since September.<\/p>\n

    South Korea\u2019s Kospi Index rose to a record after Samsung Electronics Co climbed to an all-time high, while a gauge tracking Chinese tech shares listed in Hong Kong surged as much as 4.3% amid enthusiasm over AI-related listings and progress at DeepSeek.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n

    CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Chipmakers across the region also advanced, extending momentum from last year.<\/p>\n

    As Middle Eastern markets opened, Dubai\u2019s stocks benchmark posted a gain driven by banks and real estate companies.\u00a0The index has posted five successive years of advances as investors back its immigrant-led growth, stable currency peg and government backing for business.<\/p>\n

    Currencies<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In currency markets, South Africa\u2019s rand climbed to its strongest level since August 2022, supported by reform momentum, monetary-policy optimism and inflows fuelled by a weaker dollar and further gains in gold.<\/p>\n

    The offshore yuan climbed to a level not seen since May 2023, while onshore trading in the Chinese currency was closed due to the New Year holiday. The People\u2019s Bank of China set the yuan\u2019s daily reference rate on Wednesday at a fresh high since September 2024, a day after it allowed the currency to pierce through the key 7-per-dollar level in the controlled onshore market.<\/p>\n

    In South Korea, the central-bank chief said recent won weakness doesn\u2019t reflect the real strength of the economy, and vowed to oppose any US investment decisions that could threaten the stability of the currency market.<\/p>\n

    \u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n

    Follow Moneyweb\u2019s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n