Emerging market stocks: Back in the danger zone?


Relative to the MSCI All Country World Index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is now back to the level it was last spring -- before the bottom fell out.

While some might say that circumstances are much different than they were in the spring of 2006, there are a number of developing threats that leave emerging markets especially at risk.

These include higher bond yields, as I noted yesterday in "A world of rising long-term rates," and the breathtaking but ultimately unsustainable bubble in Chinese share prices.

No doubt equity prices everywhere have been surprisingly resilient, and the fact that emerging market shares are near key resistance may lead to nothing more than a short-term pause.

Nonetheless, any sign of weakness in world equity markets now could see this traditionally volatile sector bearing the brunt of the selling pressure.

Michael Panzner is a 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World.

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Last updated: February 10, 2012: 05:42 AM

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