Indonesia stocks biggest winners in 2014 as economy recovers

The first quarter has been a mixed bag for Asia’s major markets, with last year’s star performer turning into this year’s laggard in a sharp reversal of fortune.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 is the region’s worst-performing market, down over 10 percent year-to-date following stellar gains of 57 percent in 2013, on growing concerns the government may not to deliver on its promise to put the economy on a sustainable growth path.

Foreign investors sold a net 1.84 trillion yen ($18.1 billion) of Japanese stocks in the year to mid-March, reversing from 2013 when they bought a record 15.1 trillion yen, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Indonesian equities, which were among the hardest hit amid the turmoil in emerging markets last year, made a solid comeback, emerging as the region’s top performing market this year.

The Jakarta Composite is up 10.8 percent year-to-date – after declining 1 percent last year – boosted by a combination of factors including an improvement in the country’s huge trade deficit, a string of upgrades in corporate earnings forecasts and upcoming presidential elections in July.

CNBC

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