GRAPHIC-Asian equities witness foreign outflows for third month in March

By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra
April 6 (Reuters) - Foreigners were net sellers of Asian
equities for the third consecutive month in March, as higher U.S
bond yields and a stronger dollar prompted outflows from the
region.
Overseas investors sold a net combined total of $3.18
billion in South Korean, Taiwanese, Philippine, Thai,
Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Indian stocks last month, data from
stock exchanges showed.
While Asian equities looked lucrative at the start of this
year on bets over the region's faster recovery from the pandemic
compared with Western countries, outflows in the first quarter
suggest a reversal in sentiment.
A spike in U.S. bond yields and concerns over tightening
China policy drove a rotation out of long-duration assets and
may further affect the regional equities in the second quarter,
Goldman Sachs said in a report.
The brokerage referred Asia's internet, media, and other
high growth sectors such as biotech and healthcare as
long-duration stocks as they are more sensitive to the rise in
yields.
Taiwan and South Korea, which house many high-flying tech
stocks, faced the biggest outflows in the region, witnessing net
sales of $3.2 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively.
Foreigners continued to exit Philippine equities for the
17th consecutive month March, struck by fresh lockdowns in
capital Manila and nearby provinces after a surge in new
coronavirus cases.
However, India lured inflows of $1.6 billion, despite a
surge in infections last month.
"India has bucked the trend as investors buy into the
country's recovery story," said Mitul Kotecha, chief emerging
market Asia and Europe strategist at TD Securities in Singapore.
"(But) a renewed increase in virus cases and lockdowns in
India could dampen recovery expectations and inflows in the
weeks ahead."
Vietnam and Thailand also faced outflows last month.
However, Indonesia obtained an inflow of $800 million on
optimism that the country would emerge from a pandemic-induced
recession in the second quarter. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Foreign investments in Asian equities https://tmsnrt.rs/3m7caa4
Asia-Pacific equities' performance in 2021 https://tmsnrt.rs/2PEdjtJ
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