Nov 15 – Foreigners sold off most Asia ex-China bond markets in October as they were cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
The potential for a Donald Trump victory, which ended up being the actual result, raised concerns of increased inflation from his planned tariffs and tax cuts, which lowered expectations for the accelerated rate cuts that had supported regional bonds this year.
They sold local bonds in Malaysia, Thailand and India, totalling a net $3.8 billion, following five monthly net purchases in a row, according to data from regulatory authorities and bond market associations.
Trump’s decisive victory in last week’s election has led analysts to adopt a more pessimistic view of foreign investment flows into Asian bonds.
Eugene Leow, senior rates strategist at DBS Bank, said a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields, fuelled by increased bets on Trump-related trades, have been exerting pressure on Asian…
