Foreigners sell Asian equities for 3rd straight month in April on COVID-19 impact

By Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy
May 5 (Reuters) - Foreign investors sold Asian equities for
a third straight month in April, shrugging off a rebound in
regional shares, as sentiment was weighed down by the rising
economic fallout from coronavirus-induced lockdowns.
Overseas investors sold a net $6.4 billion worth of regional
equities last month, compared with $33.32 billion worth of
outflows in March, data from stock exchanges in India,
Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and
Vietnam showed.
Outflows in March were the highest since at least January
2008.
Khiem Do, head of Greater China investments at Baring Asset
Management, said the outflows in April from Asian equities
reflected a high level of prudence and uncertainty in the way
global asset allocators and investors were positioned.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
.MIAP00000PUS gained 8.1% last month, its best month in more
than four years, after falling over 12% in March. The rally in the global and Asian equity markets appears to
be the result of modest bargain-hunting by local fundamental
investors, plus some short-covering by quantitative-driven
trading funds, Baring's Do said.
The export-reliant economies of South Korea and Thailand in
April faced outflows worth $3.97 billion and $1.43 billion,
respectively, the highest in the region.
Both economies contracted in the last quarter, with South
Korea recording its biggest contraction since 2008 as
self-isolation measures hit consumption and global trade
slumped. Indian, Indonesian, Philippine and Vietnamese equities also
faced outflows last month.
Bucking the trend, Taiwanese equities received $1.25 billion
in inflows.
Jingyi Pan, a Singapore-based market strategist at financial
services firm IG, said foreign outflows from Asia lessened in
April on hopes that the region's countries would quickly reopen
their economies after shutting them for months due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
India, Malaysia, and Thailand were among countries that have
started to partially reopen their economies after lockdowns.
"Our base case is that the global economy is expected to
gradually re-open in coming months. By the 4th quarter, we
expect that the global economy will show a much stronger
recovery," said Baring's Do.
"This will be beneficial for Asia as well as the rest of the
emerging world."
Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Foreign investments in Asian equities IMAGE https://tmsnrt.rs/2YuyNeI
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>