Now Reading: Fed pivot and Hormuz tensions drive $26.3 bn EM exodus
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Fed pivot and Hormuz tensions drive $26.3 bn EM exodus
Foreign investors pulled a net $26.3 billion from emerging-market stocks and bonds in September, the first monthly outflow since June, as a hawkish Federal Reserve pushed US Treasury yields and the dollar higher, the Institute of International Finance said on 7 October. Non-resident investors withdrew $7 billion from EM fixed-income assets, the first such outflow since March. The retreat deepened after the Fed, led by Kevin Warsh, raised interest rates for the first time since 2023.
The outflows coincided with a flare-up in Middle East tensions. Iran escalated attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, sending Brent crude above $101 a barrel and lifting the dollar. Heavy foreign selling in South Korea drove a $19.2 billion equity outflow in September. Despite the pullback, Franklin Templeton said EM stocks remain well placed, citing continued spending on AI. The IIF warned that a hawkish Fed projecting further hikes would raise the hurdle for EM returns into the fourth quarter.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The figures from the Institute of International Finance are the common thread: all three outlets report September’s $26.3 billion to $26.8 billion EM equity and bond outflows as a reaction to a hawkish Fed. NDTV Profit and Economic Times foreground the Fed pivot and the $7 billion fixed-income outflow, tying it to renewed Middle East tensions, while Livemint leads with the same geopolitical jolt through the Strait of Hormuz and oil above $101, linking the EM sell-off to a separate India rate hike. The two wire-driven stories share uniform coverage of the data, Livemint adds a contrasting bullish note from Franklin Templeton on AI-linked EM equities. No outlet departs from a neutral-report frame on the numbers themselves. The next concrete factor to track is whether the Fed, under Kevin Warsh, projects further hikes, as the IIF report warns would raise the hurdle for EM carry in the fourth quarter.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): ndtvprofit.com (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), livemint.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
