Emerging markets equities and exchange traded funds are rebounding this year, but some investors may be wondering when frontier markets equivalents, such as the iShares MSCI Frontier 100 ETF (NYSEArca: FM), will start participating.
Up about 4% over the past month, FM could be showing signs of more upside to come. A weaker dollar and a Federal Reserve that appears increasingly patient regarding interest rate hikes are bolstering the case for emerging markets.
A weaker dollar also makes it easier for developing economies to service debt, which many governments have denominated in U.S. dollars. Moreover, a depreciating greenback has helped support prices for raw materials, such as oil and metals, which are among some large exports of many developing countries.
[related_stories]Argentina, one of FM’s largest country weights, is helping steady the frontier markets ETF.
The Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (NYSEArca: ARGT) is one of this year’s best-performing single-country ETFs as market observers seem inclined to wager that Argentina’s newly elected Mauricio Macri could mean big changes in the economy after years of tepid growth. The pro-market Macri has pledged to quickly reverse much of the previous heavy-handed economic policies and open up the economy that has been posting back-to-back years of near stagnate growth, Bloomberg reports.
Related: How Central Banks Affect LatAm ETFs