The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is on track to underperform its global counterpart for a third straight month in April — its worst streak since 2019 — as new infections rocket past other regions. Foreign investors withdrew about $1.8 billion from emerging Asia stocks excluding China last week, according to latest available data compiled by Bloomberg, and global money managers appear less optimistic on near-term prospects.
“Vaccinations are being rolled out, but slow enough that lockdown risks are still real in many places,” said Joshua Crabb, a portfolio manager at Robeco in Hong Kong. “It makes sense to keep a mix of beneficiaries of reopening and some more defensive names whilst keeping a little in reserve to buy any selloff in the event markets sell off more aggressively.”