A group of about 180 stocks from the emerging Asia Pacific region have posted total returns of 19% on average this year, well ahead of other geographies around the world, according to a Bloomberg analysis of 3,000 global shares. Eastern Europe is the only one of the six other regions that has posted a positive return this year, with a mere 2% gain, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Most of the top-returning stocks this year have ties to health care and medicine, with latex glove manufacturer Top Glove Corp., surgery devices maker Microport Scientific Corp. and vaccine developer Cansino Biologics Inc. leading the way with total returns of almost 300% each. The emerging Asia grouping is also enjoying a rush of positivity from analysts, with estimated price targets up 4% in the past month, compared to a 2.7% average across the wider universe of stocks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The group’s estimated earnings per share growth of 25% over the next 12 months compares favourably with an increase of just 6% projected for companies from North America.