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July 03, 2014 at 09:52 AM
(Bloomberg) — Emerging-market stocks fell from a 14-month high after the U.S. jobless rate slid to an almost six-year low, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to rein in stimulus measures. South Africa’s rand led currencies lower.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 0.2 percent to 1,058.78 by 2:42 p.m. in London, after closing yesterday at its highest since May 9, 2013. The rand weakened 0.5 percent against the dollar. U.S. employers added more workers than forecast in June and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent, Labor Department figures showed.
“The growth in payroll employment was stronger than expected,” Michael Wang, an emerging-market strategist in London at Amiya Capital LLP, said by e-mail. “As a result, the U.S. dollar has strengthened against EM currencies, which is dragging down EM equities.”
The iShares Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund fell for the first time in three days, dropping 0.1 percent.
The WIG30 Index in Warsaw slumped 1 percent, falling for a third day. PGE SA, Poland’s largest power utility, slid to the lowest level since May 12, extending yesterday’s 6.6 percent drop, after the nation completed the sale of a stake for 1.32 billion zloty ($434 million).
Turkey Slips
The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index dropped less than 0.1 percent, declining for a third day, and the lira weakened 0.3 percent versus the dollar. Consumer prices climbed at an annualized 9.16 percent in June from 9.66 percent a month earlier, the state statistics bureau said today. That compares with a median estimate of 8.8 percent in a Bloomberg survey of 16 economists.
