Manila - OAO Gazprom led emerging-market equities lower as Thai equities tumbled amid political turmoil.
Dubai shares slid the most in the world.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.3 percent to 1,032.32 at 2:11 p.m. in London after touching a six-month high.
Gazprom dropped 2.3 percent, halting its longest rally since at least 2006, as a visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce a gas-supply deal.
Airports of Thailand slumped 3.6 percent, the most since January, and the SET Index declined after the army imposed martial law.
Dubai’s DFM General Index lost 4.1 percent as investors bet the gauge’s 38 percent gain this year is overdone after the United Arab Emirates was upgraded by MSCI to emerging-markets status.
In Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite Index fell 2.4 percent after presidential frontrunner Joko Widodo’s main opponent formed a surprise coalition with Golkar for July elections.
South Africa’s rand slid 1.1 percent, while the Turkish lira lost 0.7 percent.
“There is some profit taking in Indonesia because the presidential election might be tougher than expected and the political crisis in Thailand continues affecting the stocks,” Hertta Alava, head of emerging markets at FIM Asset Management in Helsinki, said by e-mail.
Investors may be selling Dubai stocks after they rallied prior to the MSCI upgrade, she said.
Dubai’s benchmark gauge tumbled the most among 93 global equity indexes tracked by Bloomberg, to the lowest level in more than a month.
The measure has lost 13 percent in five days of declines and is headed for the longest rout in almost two years, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
MSCI last week named the Dubai companies it will include in its emerging-markets gauge from June 1.
Thai Turmoil
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has risen 3 percent this year and trades at 10.7 times projected 12-month earnings, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The MSCI World Index of developed markets has gained 1.4 percent in 2014 and is valued at a multiple of 14.7.
The SET Index lost the most in nearly two weeks.
Dusit Thani, a hotel operator, slumped 3 percent, the biggest drop since March 18.
The baht fell 0.3 percent, paring earlier losses on suspected central bank intervention, according to Kozo Hasegawa, a currency trader at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
The move to impose martial law is not a coup and people should not be concerned, Army Chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha said on local television, asking political groups to end protests that began in November and led to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s ouster on May 7.
Gazprom Retreat
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia led the Jakarta Composite Index lower after Goldman Sachs cut the stock’s rating.
The rupiah slid the most since April 23.
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto formed a coalition with Golkar, complicating the task for frontrunner Widodo if he wins the July 9 presidential vote.
The surprise coalition was announced after Widodo’s Democratic Party of Struggle named a former chairman of Golkar as his running mate.
Gazprom, the world’s largest natural-gas producer, ended a nine-day rally while the Micex Index climbed 0.4 percent.
The ruble added 0.2 percent against the central bank’s basket of dollars and euros to reach the strongest level since February 6.
The rand fell to a two-week low.
The S&P BSE Sensex index climbed 0.1 percent for a fourth day of gains.
The gauge has risen after the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies secured the largest victory in 30 years, placing BJP leader Narendra Modi in a position to pursue economic reforms.
Technology Gains
Poland’s WIG30 Index advanced 0.3 percent, while the FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index climbed 0.4 percent in Johannesburg.
Nine out of 10 industry groups in the developing-nation measure fell, led by energy shares.
A gauge of technology companies was the only gainer, adding 0.7 percent.
Infosys jumped 3.6 percent while Naver advanced 2.9 percent.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 0.3 percent, its fourth day of declines.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 percent, led by property shares, on easing concern that new share sales will divert funds after the government announced fewer initial public offerings than some analysts had estimated.
The ChiNext Index climbed 1.4 percent. - Bloomberg News