A rally in technology stocks fueled a third day of gains for emerging-market equities after an upbeat forecast from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. bolstered confidence in earnings prospects for the sector. The MSCI EM equity index climbed more than 1%, edging closer to recovering losses sparked by the Iran war. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd....
A rally in technology stocks fueled a third day of gains for emerging-market equities after an upbeat forecast from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. bolstered confidence in earnings prospects for the sector. The MSCI EM equity index climbed more than 1%, edging closer to recovering losses sparked by the Iran war. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and SK hynix Inc. were the biggest gainers after TSMC reported a 58% surge in profit and raised its revenue forecast. That highlighted the resilience of artificial intelligence chip demand despite the economic impact of the Iran war. MSCI’s information technology sub-index climbed 1.6%, bringing its gain for the year to almost 40%, more than double the advance of the next-best performing sector, industrials. That’s driving the recovery in emerging-market equities along with growing optimism that a peace deal in the Middle East is within reach. “It is really a bad thing to have a war, but in reality, the earnings picture is now driven more by AI than by the impact of oil,” said Jorry Noeddekaer , head of global emerging markets & Asia at Polar Capital. “We probably have close to 40% of our capital directly linked to technology, which is heavily linked to semiconductors and what I call the enablers of AI.” TSMC’s boom has helped Taiwan’s stock market overtake the UK in value to become the world’s seventh largest. The benchmark Taiex has jumped 17% this month, the second-best performance after South Korea’s Kospi, another beneficiary of demand for AI. The Kospi’s 23% gain is a sharp reversal the early days when of war, when it had plunged 18% in just two sessions. In another boost to sentiment, China’s economic growth rebounded more than expected in the first quarter, suggesting limited spillover so far from the war in Iran. MSCI’s index of emerging-market currencies edged higher, and is now within a few points of erasing losses since the start of the Middle East war. Meanwhi...
Brightly coloured yam, long enjoyed in east Asia, has been appearing in drinks, desserts – and, of course, TikTok feeds Bright purple coffees and cocktails made with a root vegetable called ube have hit the high street in the UK after the yam’s striking hue caused a sensation on social media. Many are calling ube the “new matcha”, and it has a nutty, creamy, sweet taste, like a mix between coconut...
Brightly coloured yam, long enjoyed in east Asia, has been appearing in drinks, desserts – and, of course, TikTok feeds Bright purple coffees and cocktails made with a root vegetable called ube have hit the high street in the UK after the yam’s striking hue caused a sensation on social media. Many are calling ube the “new matcha”, and it has a nutty, creamy, sweet taste, like a mix between coconut and vanilla. Ube coloured and flavoured drinks became popular in the US last year, after an earlier boom in Australia . Farmers in the Philippines, where the root vegetable is often sourced, have been struggling to meet demand . Continue reading...