Asia’s asset prices lifted by global policy stimulus

Economic data in Asia have continued to be soft, mainly due to weakness in exports. Asset prices across the region have nonetheless been boosted by policy actions in the US and other major economies, which have lifted global risk appetite. The MSCI Emerging Asia index has risen by more than 5% since the start of September, marking its strongest performance since early this year. However, the gains are likely to be reversed if we are right that the global economy will disappoint consensus expectations.