EMERGING MARKETS-Meituan slide weighs on stocks, CEE leads FX lower

A 9% slide in tech heavy-weight Meituan weighed on emerging market shares on Tuesday, while Hungary’s forint and Romania’s leu led declines among currencies on recession worries. The forint and leu fell 1% each against a steady euro, while the currencies of Poland and the Czech Republic lost about 0.2% each.

Poland is approaching the end of its monetary policy tightening cycle but there remains room for further increases in interest rates, central banker Henryk Wnorowski said on Tuesday. “CEE (currencies are) under pressure from growing concerns about negative implications for the eurozone economy of a slowdown in China,” said Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at InTouch Capital Markets.

Markets globally had taken a hit on Monday after dismal retail sales and factory activity data from China raised worries about economic recovery in the world’s second-largest economy and heightened fears about of a global recession. China’s central bank cut a key lending rate following the data, pressuring the yuan. The currency extended declines against the dollar on Tuesday to hit three-month lows, last down -0.2%.

“Sentiment remains negative after the PBoC spooked markets by unexpectedly cutting interest rates which was interpreted by investors as a signal that economic slowdown in China could be far worse than they anticipated,” Matys said. Data showing dipping U.S. single-family homebuilders’ confidence and factory activity in New York also amplified recession worries as it came after recent data that showed the U.S. economy shrank for a second straight quarter.

TENCENT STAKE SALE HITS MEITUAN While most bourses in the emerging market space rose on Tuesday, Chinese blue-chips inched lower, while Hong Kong’s benchmark index dropped 1.1%.

Hong Kong tech stocks slumped 2.0% as Meituan slumped 9.1% after sources said Tencent Holdings plans to sell all or a bulk of its $24 billion stake in the food delivery firm to placate domestic regulators. A heavy-weight on the broader emerging markets stocks index, Meituan’s slide offset gains in most other stocks, leaving MSCI’s index of EM shares flat.

In Kenya, dollar-denominated bonds recovered slightly after falling as much as 2.9 cents on the dollar on Monday after the country’s elections chief declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of a tight presidential race which was disputed by a number of the country’s top election officials. For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2022, see For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2022, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

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