CoreMacro

The ongoing rally in ASEAN currencies will fizzle sooner rather than later as they are not supported by fundamentals. The ringgit and the baht, however, will fare better than the peso and the rupiah during the coming global risk-off period. This report explains why.

Special Report

China has become less reliant on exports to advanced economies, and its products have successfully penetrated developing economies. Exports to the US make up 3% of Chinese GDP, while exports to all developing economies account for 10% of its GDP. China’s trade pivot from advanced to developing economies has economic, political, and geopolitical ramifications.

The current Fed easing cycle will likely be a “buy the rumor, sell the news” phenomenon. The basis is our expectation that the US economy is heading into a rough landing. The primary driver of EM currencies is not US interest rates but the global manufacturing cycle.

Special Report

Multinationals are attempting to expand their supply chains beyond China, but the relocation process has been slower than expected. In the coming years, however, geopolitical tensions, changes in China’s business environment, and rising competition from Chinese producers could accelerate multinationals' departure from China.

The prices of multiple financial assets have failed to break above their technical resistances. When this occurs, a breakdown ensues. In brief, global risk assets remain vulnerable. We are upgrading Chinese onshore stocks from neutral to overweight and offshore ones from underweight to neutral within EM and global equity portfolios.

Special Report

GeoMacro team partners with BCA’s Emerging Markets Strategy to examine political reforms in Argentina. Our colleague Juan Egaña argues that the time is not right to go long Argentinian assets and that Buenos Aires must avoid the mistakes of the Macri era: opening to foreign capital flows too soon without addressing structural macro imbalances. However, the Milei administration is on the right path with potentially global implications.

Absolute return investors should be tactically cautious on Greek assets. Dedicated EM equity portfolios, however, should overweight Greek stocks.

A major slowdown in nominal growth was behind Indonesia’s recent stock underperformance. Dedicated EM equity portfolios should upgrade Indonesian stocks from underweight to neutral. We also recommend a new relative trade: go long Indonesian banks / short EM banks.

“Cash on the sidelines” as a share of the US equity market cap has declined to a record low. This is true for investable funds of both households and investment firms. Hence, there is little firepower left to sustain the equity rally.

Brazil’s two macro demons – a rising public debt-to-GDP ratio and inflation – have resurfaced and will worsen over the coming months. Yet, President Lula will pay lip service to fiscal concerns without enacting meaningful cutbacks. In addition, a politicized COPOM will cut rates aggressively next year and fall behind the inflation curve. All in all, the selloff in Brazilian markets still has legs.