‘Bull-Market’ Rally Has Begun, Templeton Asset’s Mobius Says

‘Bull-Market’ Rally Has Begun, Templeton Asset’s Mobius Says

By Chua Kong Ho and Paul Gordon
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The next “bull-market” rally has begun, Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s Mark Mobius said, refuting predictions that the equities meltdown will continue.

“Stocks are building a base for the next bull market,” said Mobius, 72, who helps oversee about $20 billion of emerging-market assets at San Mateo, California-based Templeton. The fund is finding “bargains” in every emerging market, which are in “better shape” than developed economies.

Templeton is looking for companies that are “cash-rich,” have low debt and higher dividend yields, Mobius said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Hong Kong. Mobius said he’s looking for companies that can invest for future growth yet have cash left to pay shareholders.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has gained 23 percent since reaching a four-year low on Oct. 27, outperforming the 2.5 percent drop in the MSCI World Index and 9.5 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Emerging markets made up the 10 best-performing stock benchmark indexes this year, with China’s Shanghai Composite Index topping the list with a 26 percent gain.
Brazilian oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, and Chinese oil producer PetroChina Co. are among the top holdings of Mobius’s Templeton Emerging Markets Trust.