Chinese markets and country-related exchange traded funds were in the limelight Monday as index provider MSCI added China A-shares to its emerging market benchmark Friday.
The KraneShares CSI China Internet Fund (NasdaqGM: KWEB), which includes exposure to some of China’s largest internet and e-commerce names, was among the best performers Friday, rising 2.9%.
The move is seen as beneficial to an array of exchange traded funds, including the VanEck Vectors ChinaAMC SME-ChiNext ETF (NYSEArca: PEK), VanEck Vectors ChinaAMC CSI 300 ETF (NYSEArca: CNXT), iShares MSCI China A ETF (BATS: CNYA) and db Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (NYSEArca: ASHR). These ETFs track China-listed company stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. However, these broad China A-shares ETFs remained in the slumps Friday.
“The quantum of dollars right now is relatively small … but what it does is it starts a process that will include China A shares as a bigger and bigger component of this very important benchmark over time,” Jon Howie, head of equity index strategy at BlackRock, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Investors widely expect billions of dollars could help support Chinese A-shares ahead as global money managers adjust their positions to better reflect the new emerging market benchmark changes.