Goldman Sachs Sees Limited Impact Of Fed Rate Hike On Emerging Markets

A Federal Reserve interest-rate hike, when it happens, is likely to have a limited impact on emerging markets given that an eventual tightening of the U.S. monetary policy had been widely anticipated, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "We believe emerging market assets have largely adjusted to the likelihood of modest rate hikes in the US. As a result, we continue to believe emerging market assets will be driven primarily by local fundamentals," the analysts said in a note. The Fed on Thursday kept interest rates at near zero due to global headwinds but suggested that it could raise rates by the end of the year. Stock markets in some of the largest emerging markets countries rose in the wake of the Fed's decisions. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%, Korea's Kospi gained 1%, and India's benchmark rose 1%. However, Brazil's Ibovespa closed mostly unchanged on Thursday but fell 1.8% Friday while Russia's Micex dropped 1.1%.