Stocks, FX to end week lower; Sri Lankan bonds rise after elections

Nigeria eyes $2.2 billion debt raising to support reforms

Weaker crown forecasts stoke Czech central bank rate debate

Yuan on course for longest weekly losing streak since 2021

MSCI EM stocks up 0.1, FX index up 0.2%

Nov 15 (Reuters) – Most emerging markets stocks and currencies inched up on Friday, but were set for weekly falls as investors parsed weak Chinese data, while Sri Lankan bonds trended higher after the president’s coalition won a majority in parliamentary elections

MSCI’s index tracking equities in developing markets edged up 0.1%, but was set for its biggest weekly drop since June 2022.

A currencies index crept up 0.2%, but was set for its steepest weekly decline since January, pressured by the U.S. dollar’s recent tear that saw it touch a one-year high. On the day, the greenback was down 0.3%.

Much of the losses among emerging market assets were due to markets pricing in a second Donald Trump presidency with fiscal, trade and immigration policies that, analysts say, could be a drag on most developing economies.

Investors were also unimpressed by China’s recent efforts to shore up its economy, along with bleak earnings reports out of India that sent its Nifty 50 index 10% lower from its September record highs earlier in the week.

China’s yuan was set for its seventh straight weekly drop, the longest such losing streak since 2021. Equity markets also closed more than 1.4% lower after data showed factory output growth slowed in October.

Elsewhere in south Asia, Sri Lankan hard currency bonds got a lift after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition won a thumping victory in a snap general election.

However, the local the rupee was flat.

“The general mood towards Sri Lanka was quite optimistic … President Dissanayake (AKD) has been pragmatic … retaining key economic officials and expressing his commitment to see through the recent restructuring agreement with bondholders and stay the course with Sri Lanka’s IMF programme,” said Patrick Curran, senior economist at Tellimer.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s rand firmed 0.5%, while bonds were relatively flat as investors braced for a credit rating review by S&P Global later in the day.

In Europe’s emerging east, the Czech crown inched up 0.1% against the euro. Minutes from the central bank’s policy meeting showed some policymakers viewed a weaker crown as an inflation risk when it left rates unchanged earlier in the month.

Nigeria’s naira appreciated 1.2%. The African nation plans to raise a total of $2.2 billion from offshore debt markets this year.

The region’s top oil producer also said it aimed to increase production to about two million barrels per day by year-end, which could support the government’s 2025 spending plans.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru. Editing by Mark Potter)