Equity bulls poised for comeback in Asia<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (Reuters): Equity bulls could be back in Asia in
\n2001, with nearly 92 percent of fund managers polled in a new
\nsurvey backing them to be the best performing assets in the
\ncoming year, but the Philippines and Indonesia remain unloved.<\/p>\n
The 12 asset allocators questioned in the latest quarterly
\nsurvey by Reuters and Hong Kong-based fund management magazine,
\nBenchmark, ranked equities as the top performers for the coming
\nyear with 91.7 percent of votes.<\/p>\n
Some 42 percent of fund managers backed them as the best bet
\nover three months.<\/p>\n
\"We believe many quality companies are heavily oversold at
\ncurrent levels,\" said JF Asset Management, backing an overweight
\nposition in the beleaguered technology sector.<\/p>\n
Asian stocks have been hammered in 2000.<\/p>\n
Excluding China's illiquid B-share markets, investible
\nbenchmark indices from Bombay to Tokyo have recorded average
\nlosses of 29 percent in the year to date, versus average gains of
\nmore than 50 percent in 1999.<\/p>\n
Fund managers' favorite, the Morgan Stanley Capital
\nInternational (MSCI) Far East Free Ex-Japan index, has also seen
\nabout 35 percent wiped from its value in local currency terms
\nover the course of this year.<\/p>\n
\"While further short term volatility is anticipated, we
\ncontinue to believe in the long term fundamentals of our stock
\npicks,\" said fund managers at JF, the Asian arm of Chase
\nManhattan's Chase Fleming Asset Management Group.<\/p>\n
Asian bonds -- outperforming regional stocks to return about
\n9.1 percent to investors so far this year in local currency
\nterms, according to the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index --
\nare off the radar screen on a one-year view, but still backed by
\na quarter of managers over three months.<\/p>\n
Cash was picked as an outperformer by 8.3 percent over a year
\nand by 25 percent over three months.<\/p>\n
Money managers remain broadly loyal to their technology, media
\nand telecommunications plays, with a third of those polled
\nsticking with a sector that has been pummeled through 2000.
\nThe U.S. Nasdaq index, the global high-tech barometer, has lost
\nsome 49 percent since its March 10 peak, and is down about 36
\npercent in the year to date.<\/p>\n
Other top sector picks in the short term were financials --
\nscoring a fifth of all votes for a three month outlook -- and oil
\nstocks, which racked up about 12.5 percent of responses.<\/p>\n
But the money managers said oil would lose its luster over the
\ncourse of the year, with 16.7 percent of those polled pegging it
\nas an underweight sector over a 12-month view.<\/p>\n
Consumer stocks, utilities and basic industries were also
\ncandidates for underweighting over 12 months, with
\npharmaceuticals, retail and technology stocks joining them over
\nthree months.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong was seen as the market performing best over both
\nthree months and a year, leaping up from fifth favorite in
\nSeptember's survey to switch spots with former top pick, Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Almost 46 percent of fund managers polled put the special
\nadministrative region of China at the head of their lists over a
\none-year timeframe.<\/p>\n
Strategists widely expect Hong Kong to be a major beneficiary
\nof China's entry into the World Trade Organization, at least in
\nthe short term, as firms use it as a springboard to the mainland.<\/p>\n
But not a single fund manager polled saw any immediate hope
\nfor the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Almost 60 percent of respondents said the Philippines was
\ntheir least favorite market in the coming year and a third
\nrejected it over the coming quarter.<\/p>\n
A third of those questioned gave the thumbs down to Indonesia,
\nwith a quarter expecting it to underperform over the next three
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
The risks for markets were diverse, with 16 possible dangers
\nhighlighted from high oil prices to tension in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The oil price spike was the chief short term concern, but
\npolitical risks, weak earnings and inflationary pressures were
\nthe biggest uncertainties over 12 months.<\/p>\n
Worsening corporate credit profiles highlighted the risks of
\nbond defaults over three and 12 months to eight percent of those
\nsurveyed, while a too-early cut in U.S. interest rates was ranked
\nas the biggest near term worry by 11 percent of fund managers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/equity-bulls-poised-for-comeback-in-asia-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}