Investors lowered their expectations of gains in Asian equities this year as optimism fades about the prospects of looser monetary policy and China’s economic outlook.
That’s the view of most of the 17 strategists and fund managers surveyed by Bloomberg News. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is seen rising to 174 by year end, according to the average of 13 responses to a poll late last month. The forecast implies gains of 5% from Tuesday’s close, and compares with the 178.5 level predicted in a similar Bloomberg survey three months ago.
Should the prediction prove prescient, the Asian benchmark would end the year below its March 2022 level, when the Federal Reserve delivered its first rate hike in three years, implying that investors aren’t yet ready to factor in any significant monetary policy shift.
Read the full story on Bloomberg here.