Emerging Stocks Head for Weekly Loss After Swiss Currency Shock

(Bloomberg) — Emerging-market stocks headed for the first weekly drop in a month as Switzerland’s move to abandon the franc’s cap damped demand for riskier assets. Gold producers rose as bullion traded near a four-month high.

South Korean shares sank 1.4 percent as the won’s gain to a two-month high dragged exporters including Hyundai Motor Co. lower. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. slid the most in eight months after its apartments in Shenzhen were blocked from sale. PetroChina Co. led energy shares lower as oil headed for the longest weekly slump since 1986. Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s largest gold producer, added 3.9 percent in Shanghai.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4 percent to 955.92 at 1:53 p.m in Hong Kong, taking its loss this week to 0.6 percent. The Swiss central bank surprised markets at its policy meeting yesterday by abandoning its three-year-old cap of 1.20 per euro on the franc. A Bloomberg gauge of commodity prices has fallen for an eighth week, set for the longest slump since 2001.

“The Swiss move is creating uncertainty for global markets and investors are running for safety,” said Barry David Weisblatt, Ho Chi Minh City-based managing director and head of research at VPBank Securities Co. The slump in oil price has also affected markets, he said.

The developing-nation gauge has lost 0.1 percent this year and trades at 11.2 times projected 12-month earning, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI World Index has fallen 2.7 percent and is valued at a multiple of 15.3.

Industry Groups

Nine out of 10 industry groups in the emerging-markets measure slid, led by consumer-discretionary stocks and energy companies. Hyundai Motor, which gets more than half of its revenue overseas, lost 1.7 percent. The Kospi sank 1.4 percent while the the won strengthened 0.6 percent versus the dollar.

Great Wall Motor Co. fell 4.4 percent in Hong Kong after Barclays Plc recommended investors sell the stock. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 0.7 percent, led by a 1.6 percent drop in PetroChina. China Overseas Land tumbled 4 percent as more than 2,800 apartments developed by the company in Shenzhen were blocked from sale by the local land authority.

The Shanghai Composite Index rallied 1.3 percent, heading for the longest weekly winning streak in almost eight years. Zijin Mining and Shandong Gold Mining Co. climbed more than 3 percent as bullion prices surged 2.8 percent yesterday on increased demand for safe havens.

Equity gauges in Taiwan and Thailand declined at least 0.2 percent. India’s rupee and the Thai baht strengthened 0.3 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nguyen Kieu Giang in Hanoi at [e-mail] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at [e-mail] Chan Tien Hin, Phani Varahabhotla