Aberdeen slumps 5% as EM woes return to haunt markets

Fresh plunges in the value of emerging market currencies have send equities sharply lower this morning, with an analyst downgrade adding to the pain for EM-focused Aberdeen.

Analysts Bruce Hamilton and Anil Sharma cut Aberdeen's rating from neutral to underweight, warning the business is less well-positioned to cope with the ongoing problems across emerging markets than peers. "Continued challenges to EM fundamentals are driving increased uncertainty over the EM allocation story and performance," the duo said. "Historical concentration of flows in GEM/APAC equity and EM debt means the group may be less able than peers (e.g. Schroders) to withstand the above pressure," it said. The note comes amid a tumultous week for emerging markets themselves, with c...