STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 21 August 2013

[Demeter]

4. India, Brazil, other emerging economies hit by currency rout

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/19/us-markets-emerging-idUSBRE97I0UY20130819

The Indian rupee plummeted to a record low against the dollar on Monday, leading a rout by Brazil's real and other emerging market currencies seen by investors as the most vulnerable to an exodus of foreign capital.

A fierce selloff in many emerging currencies shows no sign of abating as the expected withdrawal of U.S. monetary stimulus prompts investors to shun markets seen as riskier because of funding deficits, slowing economies and inflation.

The rupee fits that bill, as do the Indonesian rupiah, the South African rand and the Brazilian real. The rupiah plunged to four-year troughs on Monday while the rand lost another 1 percent to bring year-to-date losses to almost 17 percent against the dollar.

Brazil's real extended last week's fall of more than 5 percent fall to trade at its weakest level since March 2009 even as the central bank sold nearly $3 billion worth of currency swaps, which are derivatives that mimic an injection of dollars in the futures market. Like the rupee, it has been hammered by doubts over the efficacy of policy actions to stem the rout...MORE


SOMEBODY CANNONBALLED INTO THE CURRENCY POOL...