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EWM

iShares MSCI Malaysia Index ETF

5/22/2013, 8:43 PM ET

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Tuesday, May 21, 9:19 AM Thai stocks (THD) cooled off Tuesday even as property shares outperformed on continued speculation about a rate cut to boost economic growth. Regional winners were Malaysian (EWM) and Philippine (EPHE) equities, up 0.58% and 0.72% respectively. Comment! [Global & FX]
Thursday, May 16, 9:03 AM Post election rallies in Malaysian (EWM) and Philippine (EPHE) equities appear to have run their course as stocks in Kuala Lumpur and Manila fall 0.91% and 1.1% respectively. The mood in Malaysia wasn't helped by GDP data which showed the country's economy (the third largest in the region) grew by just 4.1% in Q1, the slowest pace in three years. Comment! [Global & FX]
Monday, May 13, 9:04 AM Vietnamese stocks (VNM) rise 0.6% after the country's central bank said Friday it would cut three policy rates by 100bps amid inflation which, at 6.61% in April, was a little more than a fourth of what it was less than two years ago. Elsewhere in the region, Malaysian stocks (EWM) add 0.88% to last week's 4.6% rally, Thai equities (THD) slip 0.3% after the country's finance minister fails to mention interest rates in a meeting with the central bank's policy-making committee, and stocks in Singapore (EWS) give back 1% of last week's gains amid profit-taking. Comment! [Global & FX]
Friday, May 10, 11:21 AM Malaysian equities (EWM +0.2%) closed out an impressive week by posting fractional gains (+0.36%) in Kuala Lumpur Friday. Despite a mild Wednesday/Thursday swoon, stocks rallied 4.6% for the week after a pivotal (and uncharacteristically close) election reinstalled the ruling National Front coalition last Sunday, removing a political hangover. Comment! [Global & FX]
Thursday, May 9, 7:48 AM Thai stocks (THD) continue to make new 19-year highs as the SET rises 0.4% to 1,621. In other regional action, Malaysian (EWM) equities lagged (-0.5%) for the second day in a row as the post-election euphoria wears off and stocks in Singapore (EWS) jump 0.6% on agribusiness earnings optimism (Olam OLMIF.PK +2.6%, Wilmar WLMIY.PK +1.2%). Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, May 8, 10:18 AM In a reversal of Tuesday's action, Philippine stocks (EPHE +0.7%) rise 0.5%, recouping half of Monday and Tuesday's losses while Malaysian equities (EWM +0.3%) finally cool off after surging ~5% following Sunday's election. Elsewhere in the region, Thai stocks (THD +1.8%) rally 0.8% to a fresh 19-1/2 year high, while regional agribusiness heavyweight Wilmar (WLMIY.PK +2.4%) posts a 23% Y/Y increase in earnings, fueling a 0.9% bump for stocks in Singapore (EWS +0.8%). Comment! [Global & FX]
Tuesday, May 7, 10:27 AM Malaysian equities (EWM +0.5%) put in another record close in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday as the post-election rally (I, II) continues, led by financials. Net foreign buying totals $820M so far this week. Speaking of foreign capital inflows, stocks in Manila (EPHE -0.4%), capital of recently investment grade Philippines (I, II), slip 0.3% on the day but remain near record highs. In other Southeast Asian markets, Thai stocks (THD +0.5%) rose 1.14%. Comment! [Global & FX]
Monday, May 6, 6:11 AM It's a banner day in Malaysian equity (EWM) and currency markets following the re-election of the ruling National Front coalition and Prime Minister Najib Razack's dominant UMNO party. The ringgit soars the most in three years and some individual stock names post double-digit gains on the session. The country's second largest bank, CIMB Group, has its best day in more than a decade. Across the region, Vietnamese equities (VNM) climb nearly 3% and Indonesian shares (IDX) rise 1.35% in Jakarta despite persistent inflation worries. 1 Comment [Global & FX]
Sunday, May 5, 9:19 PM Malaysian equities (EWM) and the ringgit respond to the National Front's election victory (I,II) with strong rallies. The ringgit rises 1.6% early to 2.9865 against the greenback, its largest one-day jump in years. Meanwhile, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index surges more than 4%. Comment! [Global & FX]
Sunday, May 5, 7:22 PM Some $3B in handouts to poor households, strong economic growth, and perhaps most importantly, more than a half century of political precedent help the National Front (a coalition within which prime minister Najib Razak's UMNO party is dominant) hold onto power in Malaysia following the most tightly contested election in the country's history Sunday. Despite allegations of election fraud, Malaysian stocks (EWM) are likely to be buoyed by the results — if nothing else, the victory for the ruling party eliminates an element of uncertainty and the market, as they say, hates uncertainty. (previous) Comment! [Global & FX]
Sunday, May 5, 12:32 AM IShares' Malaysia ETF (EWM) will be on watch in the coming week as the country goes to the polls Sunday in a pivotal election. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, promises a mix of "a market economy and Occupy Wall Street" if elected, a partial reference to his pledge to break the link between UMNO and business magnates. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Razak has record stock prices (I, II, III), robust economic growth, 56 years of political tradition, and ~$3.6B in cash handouts on his side. If elected, he promises more free money — cash, as they say, is king. 1 Comment [Global & FX]
Tuesday, April 30, 11:38 AM Underscoring the bubble worries of Credit Suisse, HSBC, and the IMF (among others), Indonesian (IDX +0.1%) and Malaysian (EWM -0.4%) stocks hit record highs thanks to "strong quarterly earnings and expectations that the Fed and ECB" will not veer from the stimulus course. "Indonesia is the furthest ahead in the economic cycle," Credit Suisse warns, "lending growth is double the pace" of nominal GDP growth. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 17, 11:39 AM Malaysian equities (EWM +0.1%) make new record highs Wednesday on the back of impressive earnings two weeks before a pivotal election, while Thai stocks (THD -0.5%) fell, weighed down by weakness in the energy sector. Falling oil prices may lead to weak earnings from Thai-listed energy names one analyst told Reuters, something which may concern THD investors as the ETF is heavily weighted towards energy. Comment! [Global & FX]
Tuesday, April 16, 8:40 AM Don't expect a Chinese economic swoon to derail growth in Thailand and Malaysia where "generous fiscal policy" is the key driver, says HSBC, echoing the positive sentiment expressed by the World Bank (asset bubble warning notwithstanding). Thai stocks (THD) hit two week highs Tuesday and Malaysian equities (EWM) neared record levels as analysts say any hit to raw material exports occasioned by flagging Chinese demand will be offset by knock on benefits from Japanese monetary stimulus. Comment! [Global & FX]
Thursday, April 11, 9:19 AM Foreign inflows ($63.45M Thursday and $3.6B YTD) boosted Malaysian stocks (EWM) to all time highs Thursday ahead of elections set for May 5. The consensus: no major political changes equals a continuation of the rally. In other Southeast Asian markets, Vietnamese shares (VNM) rose handily after yesterday's mini flash crash, and Thai stocks (THD) rose +1.78% as the SET Index finished above the psychologically important 1,500 level. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 3, 2:14 PM Today also saw Global X's launch of the first ever ETF covering Central Asia republics and Mongolia (AZIA). The fund's portfolio will be spread between Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and will charge 0.69%. This compares as follows to other Asian country ETFs: VNM - 0.76%, THD - 0.62%, IDX - 0.57%, EWM - 0.52%, EPHE - 0.59%. Comment!