How does Fed meeting impact on emerging markets? Does it directly impact on retail investors in india?

Following article on CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/16/fed-interest-rate-hikes-impact-on-emerging-markets.html, explains it very well. 

The U.S. Federal Reserve finally raised interest rates after a nine year gap, marking the end of one of the greatest monetary policy experiments of all time.

The Fed's actions have had a profound impact on financial markets not just in developed markets, but also in emerging markets (EMs).

How did the Fed's actions influence emerging markets?

As the Fed cut interest rates aggressively, investors seeking higher returns went in search of yield. The gush of foreign money lifted stocks and currencies from Manila to Mexico City. 

The flood of capital also boosted lending and consumption, ensuring emerging markets grew at a healthier clip than their sclerotic peers in the developed world.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as a television screen displays coverage of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairmman Janet Yellen shortly after the announcement that the U.S. Federal Reserve had hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade in New York, December 16, 2015.

Fed raises interest rates, first time since 2006

What has changed?

The outlook has worsened though just as the Fed begins to turn off the spigot. Economic activity has slowed in many emerging markets, with commodities-linked countries particularly hit hard as China begins to slow. Foreign investors have yanked out billions from emerging markets.

Net capital flows for global emerging markets will be negative in 2015, the first time that has happened since 1988, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in an October report.

Net outflows for the year are projected at $541 billion, driven by a sustained slowdown in EM growth and uncertainty about China, it added.

How are emerging markets coping?

There are differences between emerging market countries on their ability to weather the impact of higher interest rates. Indonesia and Malaysia have suffered due to the slump in commodities, which have hurt export revenues.

The Indonesian rupiah and the Malaysian ringgit fell sharply in the summer, although they have recovered a little since. Still, the risk of renewed currency weakness amid anticipated dollar strength limits the possibility of additional stimulus somewhat.

The Philippines and India tend to depend more on domestic consumption so have fared better. Lower crude oil prices have helped narrow the current account deficit in India while inflation has also cooled, giving the central bank elbow room to cut interest rates.

The country has also upstaged China as the world's fastest growing major economy though the construction sector has slowed and bad debts in the banking system have risen.

In China, the stuttering economy and capital outflows have dragged the yuan down against the U.S. dollar to the lowest in more than four years. The People's Bank of China has intervened in the currency market to avert bigger falls.

China's foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, have declined as a result but the country still has ample buffers to repay overseas creditors and honor import commitments compared with rivals. The Philippines also scores well on this metric.

South Korea benefits from one of the highest current account surpluses in the region but its highly open economy is vulnerable to foreign shocks. A big chunk of exports go to China, where a) the economy is slowing and b) companies in certain sectors are also substituting imports that would have typically come from Korea with locally-made products.

Lower crude prices have also hurt demand for the heavy machinery it exports and economic growth has been soft.

5 Likes

@Nithin
Oh…lengthy read…but informative. Nice.

Thanks for the info)

After 15 months , Fed paused hiking rates and keep it unchanged at 5.25% but what the market didn’t like is the projection that there can be some more hikes during the year and the hawkish commentary by Jerome Powell that till 2% inflation target is not met, they will do whatever it takes to reach that target.

Impact on Markets? Although there was a temporary dip, technically, markets are in a bullish territory and are not taking any of these seriously.

Nasdaq has crossed 15000 levels and has suddenly become very bullish - going up 25% YTD.

The way I see it is, in the short run this was a non event and unless something major happens, markets are happy to go up 2 steps and go down 1.5 step and wait for fresh triggers

The reason for US markets falling by 1.5%-2%

With inflation continuing to remain higher, the economy not showing any signs of slowing down especially the data. Fed is trying its best to have a soft landing but markets and economy are just not moving anywhere down.

With food and energy prices surging higher, there is a real risk of stagflation going forward.