Emerging-market stocks gained for a third day as higher oil prices boosted energy producers and reports in the United States spurred confidence in the global recovery. South Africa’s rand dropped to a four-year low versus the dollar after the economy slowed more than forecast.
Bloomberg News reports that OAO Gazprom, Russia’s biggest natural-gas producer, and Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-run oil company, gained more than 0.7 per cent.
OTP Bank Nyrt., Hungary’s largest lender, climbed to the highest in almost two years after the central bank cut interest rates for a 10th month.
OAO Magnit, Russia’s biggest food retailer, jumped to a record after MSCI Incorporated increased its weighting in a benchmark gauge. The Colombian peso slid beyond 1,900 for the first time in 16 months.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed by 0.2 per cent to 1,030.82. The gauge is down 0.8 per cent this month following last week’s 1.8 per cent slide. US home prices rose in March by the most in seven years and confidence among American consumers climbed in May to the highest level in more than five years, data showed.
“Markets are recovering from weakness last week,” Maarten-Jan Bakkum, an emerging-market strategist at ING Investment Management in The Hague, said by e-mail. “Positive drivers remain,” including expectations for monetary easing in emerging markets and a recovery in the global economy, he said.
The main indexes in Russia, Hungary, China, Mexico, Indonesia and Thailand rose more than 1 percent and Brazil’s Ibovespa lost 0.6 per cent.
Gauges of energy and health care companies in MSCI’s developing-nation index rose at least 0.6 per cent, the most among 10 industry groups, while technology shares lost 0.6 per cent, the biggest decline.