Coronavirus: China tightens grip on emerging-markets via index weights

The coronavirus pandemic is helping China dominate the emerging-market (EM) landscape, making a quick recovery in the world’s second-largest economy crucial if the asset class is to rebound.

China’s share in MSCI’s index of developing-nation stocks rose 6 percentage points in the past quarter to a record 36.5 per cent. The country’s weighting in a Bloomberg Barclays gauge of local-currency debt has increased to 35.7 per cent, also an all-time high. 

Chinese stocks and bonds were the best performers in both measures in the period.

This enhanced presence comes at a crucial time for Chinese markets. While authorities have unlocked a raft of