The weak dollar and booming risk appetite in the wake of the U.S. presidential election is adding a tailwind for some emerging markets ETFs that have trailed during the year.
Country ETFs for Thailand (NYSEARCA:THD), Malaysia (NYSEARCA:EWM), Hong Kong (NYSEARCA:EWH), Nigeria (NYSEARCA:NGE), and Chile (BATS:ECH) were the biggest gainers Tuesday of the ETFs monitored by the Seeking Alpha Country ETF tracker.
THD, EWM, and EWH were the biggest gainers of the group with gains of 7.6%, 2.7%, and 2.5% respectively. The gain for the THD is the largest since March 17.
Despite the day’s gains, the group has trailed U.S. markets YTD. THD, ECH, and NGE have lost 23%, 16%, and 12% YTD respectively.
The reversal mirrors others taking place in the markets in recent days. The Nasdaq, a leader over the year, tumbled while the Dow and small caps made gains.
Many emerging markets rely on dollar-denominated debt to fund their deficits, so a weakening dollar may be boosting their fortunes by making financing less expensive.
Emerging market stocks tend to be riskier than their domestic counterparts. Growing risk appetite in the markets could be adding to their tailwinds.
The emerging market ETFs are cheaper than the S&P 500.
The EWM, the most expensive of the group, trades at 21 times forward earnings. That’s less than the 26 for the S&P 500.
For investors that think the dollar weakens further and risk appetite continues to grow, some laggard emerging markets may offer attractively-priced bets.
– Seeking Alpha