Emerging Markets Hold Steady Amid Cabinet Speculations and Protests

Currencies and equities in emerging markets traded flat as investors awaited cabinet appointments in South Africa and monitored protests in Kenya. MSCI's index edged higher, but currency and bond yields were mixed. In Turkey, equities dropped, while South Asia's indices reached record highs ahead of index inclusions.

Currencies and equities in most emerging markets traded around flat on Wednesday, as investors awaited cabinet appointments in South Africa and monitored tensions in Kenya.

MSCI's index tracking developing market stocks edged 0.2% higher, while an index tracking currencies slipped 0.1% against the dollar. In South Africa, officials hinted that announcements executive appointments in the country's first coalition government could be announced on Wednesday or Thursday.

The rand was flat, while yield on the benchmark sovereign bond ticked up one basis point (bps). "Investors will look for more accountability from the government and some checks and balances that could strengthen institutional confidence that serious issues with South Africa's infrastructure investment and corruption would be addressed," Shaniel Ramjee, senior investment manager at Pictet Asset Management, said.

Elsewhere in Africa, the Kenyan shilling slipped 0.1% in low volumes, and yield on local bonds climbed one to three bps, as protesters vowed to maintain demonstrations against new tax hikes, a day after police opened fire on crowds trying to storm parliament. "The demonstrations reflect public opposition to the stringent IMF conditions that the government has been pursuing in line with its loan programme, which has worsened the cost-of-living situation in the country," analysts at BancTrust & Co said.

Turkey's main equities index dropped 0.8%, with the banking index also losing 0.8%. Ratings agency Fitch revised the outlook on local lenders to "improving" following the country's shift to more orthodox macro policy. The lira traded at 32.95 to the dollar. Economists expect the local central bank to leave rates unchanged at 50% on Thursday.

In south Asia, India's BSE Sensex index traded at record highs, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was broadly flat ahead of the country's inclusion in JPMorgan's emerging market bond index, starting on Friday. Analysts have estimated the inclusion could draw a combined $11 billion away from South Africa, Poland and Thailand's local markets.

Sri Lanka's main stock index and rupee showed a muted reaction to the country's deal with creditor nations to restructure about $5.9 billion in bilateral debt. The country is also in the process of signing bilateral debt treatment agreements with China's export import bank. Most currencies in central and eastern Europe traded flat against the euro.

The National Bank of Hungary said it will raise the countercyclical capital buffer rate for banks to 1% due to geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, with effect from July 1, 2025. The equities index climbed 0.2%.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)