EMERGING MARKETS-Chinese shares lift EM stocks to two-year high on stimulus cheer

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JPMorgan bullish on India and Japan, top Asia official says

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Sir Lanka’s new PM and cabinet appointments due

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Hungary expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps

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Stocks up 1.5%, FX up 0.1%

By Ankika Biswas

Sept 24 (Reuters) – Sharp gains in Chinese equities pushed an emerging market stocks index over 1% higher on Tuesday, boosted by the country’s biggest stimulus since the pandemic, while the Hungarian forint firmed slightly ahead of a local policy decision.

China’s blue-chip index and the Shanghai Composite index both jumped over 4%, their biggest one-day gains in four years, to hit around one-month highs. Hong Kong’s main index also leapt around 4% to a four-month high.

The MSCI index for EM stocks surged 1.5% to a two-year high.

The yuan, too, scaled a 16-month high in both onshore and offshore markets, accompanied by an initial rally in Chinese bonds, on hopes that the broader than expected package offering more funding and interest rate cuts will help China’s rocky economic recovery.

People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng projected a 50-basis-point cut to the banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), among the slew of measures, but analysts questioned the efficacy of the liquidity injections.

“Today’s package again falls short of the ‘bazooka’ stimulus that will alter the outlook for global commodities demand or consensus investor scepticism over China’s long-term growth problems,” Hasnain Malik at Tellimer wrote.

“At best, these signal an increasing sense of urgency from the authorities on the need to address slower economic growth and that pragmatism will ultimately win out over ideological dogma on ‘higher quality growth'”.

Meanwhile, the largest U.S. bank JPMorgan is bullish on India and Japan within Asia, but is also keen to allocate resources towards Southeast Asia.

Shares in India’s main stock indexes hit record highs for the fourth consecutive session, while Japan’s Nikkei share average notched a three-week closing high.

Elsewhere, Sri Lanka’s main stock index jumped over 2%, with investors awaiting new prime minister and cabinet appointments. Prime minister Dinesh Gunawardena had resigned a day after Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election.

The country’s monetary policy decision is also due on Thursday.

Hungary’s forint firmed slightly and the main stocks index hit a one-month high ahead of its interest rate decision, due during the day, with rates expected to be reduced by 25 basis points for the 16th cut in the cycle.

Nigeria’s policy decision is also due later in the day, while the Czech Republic will announce its decision on Wednesday.

Poland’s blue-chip stock index climbed nearly 2%, boosted by a more than 5% jump in copper producer KGHM following its August operating results and gains across European metal and mining groups on the back of China’s stimulus plan.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)

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