The IMF downgraded its outlook on many major emerging economies. For instance, it cut Russia’s growth projection by 100 basis points to 2% and pared Brazil’s outlook by 0.2 percentage point to 2.3%. The Russia country-specific ETF, Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSEArca: RSX), has dipped 6.7% over the past year while the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWZ) fell 23.3%.
On the other hand, the IMF raised its outlook on China by a third of a percent to 7.5%. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: FXI) has decreased 10.7% over the past year. [Getting Selective With Emerging Markets]
Broad emerging market ETFs had a lackluster year. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF’s (NYSEArca: EEM) is down 9% over the past year while Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO) declined 10%. [An Ominous Chart for Emerging Markets]
For more information on developing economies, visit our emerging markets category.
Max Chen contributed to this article. Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of EEM.