CoreMacro

Chilean equities are undergoing a structural re-rating. A political swing back to a pro-business administration, a benign macro backdrop, and a resilient exchange rate will drive Chilean markets’ outperformance versus EM peers.

Special Report

China’s policy-driven constraints prevent the “destruction” part of the creative destruction process. Instead, they entrench overcapacity, deflation, and poor profitability. We are reluctant to chase the rally in Chinese stocks in absolute terms.

Indonesia’s policy easing will boost domestic demand, but fuel inflation. Current account deficit will widen, and the rupiah will weaken. Stay short the rupiah and go underweight Indonesian stocks, domestic bonds, and sovereign credit in their respective EM portfolios.

Core Europe’s industrial sector will relapse in the coming months due to US tariffs and a strong euro. Investors can play the imminent deflationary shock by being long Central European bonds. They should, however, hedge the currency risk vis-à-vis the euro.

The Buenos Aires election results are a setback for the government's political momentum, but not the endgame. Our long-term bullish view remains in place, but short-term investors should stay on the sidelines in the near run.

Special Report

The resilience of US non-tech companies' profitability has not been driven by top-line growth but by falling costs, which safeguarded profit margins. Presently, risks in US stocks outweigh the potential rewards – margin sustainability is uncertain while equity valuations are very stretched.

We see two risks that could spoil the rally in US risk assets: (1) a tariff-driven stagflation, and (2) a US Treasury tantrum. Our negative view on EM risk assets is primarily driven by the outlook for global trade, which is set to shrink in Q4 this year.

EM sovereign and corporate credit spreads are set to widen. Within a global credit portfolio, maintain a neutral allocation to EM credit markets versus US corporate credit. Favor EM local currency bonds over EM USD bonds.

Special Report

The fact that the yellow metal’s rally has defied headwinds from key cyclical drivers suggests that the bull market is structural, not cyclical. Buy gold and gold mining stocks in absolute and relative terms.

Colombian markets will be torn between expectations of future orthodox policies and the reality of a worsening macro backdrop in the next 12 months. To balance risks, we are upgrading Colombian equities, local bonds, and sovereign credit from underweight to neutral versus their respective EM benchmarks.