Emerging-market equities continued their extended run of outperformance over developed markets, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbing nearly 30% since the start of the year. Viewed from London, the rally has been powered by rising commodity prices, a weakening US dollar, and the rapid expansion of AI-related technology manufacturing concentrated in Asia. The composition of the EM benchmark now tells a stark story: Asia accounts for 82% of the index, with Taiwan recently overtaking China as the largest single weight, and the technology sector has more than doubled its share to 37% over the past decade, led by semiconductor mega-caps such as TSMC and SK Hynix.

The Indonesian market rode that wave, with the Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) rising 2.82% during the week to 19 June, closing at 6,177. Total market capitalisation reached IDR 10,788 trillion, up 2.51% from the prior week. Yet trading activity cooled: average daily volume and value fell by 5.83% and 1.02% respectively, and foreign investors remained net sellers, though outflows narrowed to a modest IDR 904 billion, compared with nearly IDR 6 trillion the week before. Among individual stocks, PT Mega Perintis Tbk surged 60.29%, the sharpest gainer, while PT Sidomulyo Selaras and PT Remala Abadi each jumped more than 43%.

Indian equities also advanced, with the Nifty 50 rising 1.65% and the Sensex 1.69% for the same period. Stock-specific catalysts drove outsized moves: New India Assurance soared 37.7% after the National Stock Exchange filed draft papers for a Rs 30,000 crore initial public offering, in which the insurer is a selling shareholder. HFCL Ltd gained 28.1% after winning a Rs 2,666 crore BharatNet broadband contract, while Carborundum Universal hit a fresh 52-week high with a 24.4% gain. The breadth of the rally and robust volumes signalled broad domestic participation.

In Tehran, the trading day on 21 June captured the increasingly cautious mood beneath the rally. The main TSE index vaulted 65,000 points in early dealing to breach the 5.2 million mark, a move that traders recognised as testing a key technical resistance level. But the advance proved fragile: selling pressure swelled through the session as retail investors rushed to book profits, and the index surrendered roughly 40,000 points of its gain, finishing the morning with only a modest advance. Real-money investors turned net sellers, with an estimated IDR 760 billion in retail outflows, even as funds with-drew capital from fixed-income instruments—suggesting a rotation rather than outright exit. Analysts in Tehran attribute the pullback to the index’s failure to break decisively above 5.2 million without fresh political or economic catalysts.

Looking ahead, the persistence of the EM equity rally will hinge on global risk appetite and currency movements, with many fund managers in Frankfurt and Singapore watching for any hawkish shift by the Federal Reserve. The next milestones include the Fed’s June meeting minutes and, in Mumbai, the progress of the NSE IPO, which could unlock significant value for state-linked insurance holdings and reshape liquidity dynamics across the broad Indian market.