Additionally, gains in oil prices also helped support oil companies, the second largest issuers of junk debt in the region.
Some observers, on the other hand, attributed to the lift in Asian bonds to a rally in the equities market. There is a 0.5 average correlation between stocks and high-yield bonds in Asia, according to Gordon Ip, who manages the high-yield bond fund for Value Partners Group Ltd.
WisdomTree Asia Local Debt Fund
For more information on the fixed-income market, visit our bond ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.