Southeast Asia is giving the rest of the Asia Pacific region a run for its money.
North Korea’s missile launches, US President Donald Trump’s “fire and fury” responses and the possibility of further tightening by the Federal Reserve aren’t holding back the equity markets in this part of the world.
The MSCI AC Asean Index has risen for eight consecutive trading sessions, making it the longest winning streak in about five years. The region’s benchmark gauge has climbed 16% this year, the most since 2012, beating the MSCI World Index which is up 11%.
“The global goldilocks backdrop is conducive for emerging market outperformance because it is more likely for growth momentum to pick up before inflation and higher interest rates begin to be a threat,” said Alan Richardson, a fund manager at Samsung Asset Management whose Asean fund is beating 97% of its peers.
Geopolitical concerns aren’t weighing on southeast Asian equities as investors still believe they are “symbolic confrontations” rather than something that will lead to “genuine military conflict,” he added.