AI Bets Drive Emerging Market Stock to 5-Year High

As excitement about Asia’s expanding role in artificial intelligence drove the region’s technology shares, emerging-market equities got off to a great start in 2026 and reached their highest point in over five years.

Emerging markets start 2026 strong

The MSCI Inc. index of developing countries closed at its highest level since February 2021 after rising 1.7% in the opening session of the year, the largest one-day gain since October. Meanwhile, its equivalent in developing currencies remained unchanged on Friday.

The surge in equities highlights investor excitement for AI-related assets, which are still receiving a lot of attention in the world’s equity markets. Excitement over fresh listings and the sector’s prospects drove a barometer of tech shares up 2.8%.

AI-driven rally in Asian tech stocks

According to Todd Sohn, senior ETF strategist at Strategas Securities, “investors are overexposed to US growth and AI and are turning to places that may have lower valuations or have not quite performed over the last cycle.” “EM can help with it.”

Shanghai Biren Technology Co. Ltd., a chip designer, had a boost in its Hong Kong trading debut, while Baidu Inc. saw a rise after the secret filing of an IPO by its AI chip division. Although the sub-index for the area was only up around 0.5%, Latin American stocks also saw gains on Friday.

While traders concentrated on prospects for Federal Reserve easing, the MSCI Emerging Markets Currency index showed minimal movement. The South African rand and the Mexican peso, two indicators of risk appetite, both saw increases of around 0.6%, while Brazil’s real rose almost to 0.9%.

MSCI emerging markets index rises as EM equities hit five-year high

At the beginning of a new exchange-rate system, the Argentine peso dropped more than 1%, making it one of the worst performers in the developing world. The modifications, which went into effect today, increase the possibility of devaluation by enabling the peso to trade inside a range whose top and lower bounds would spread more quickly.

Colombia’s short-term swaps increased in the credit markets after the Labor Ministry’s announcement that the government is considering price restrictions and other inflation-prevention measures.

Following the country’s finance minister’s announcement of progress on a new credit facility with the International Monetary Fund, Senegal’s dollar bonds led advances among global EM peers. With help from Srinivasan Sivabalan, Bhaskar Dutta, and Maria Elena Vizcaino

AI investment boosts global markets

Following executives’ disclosure of share dispositions, BigBear.ai’s stock declines.

The stock of BigBear.ai Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BBAI) fell 2.7% in Friday’s after-hours trading after regulatory filings revealed that many business officials had sold shares.

Three top executives of the artificial intelligence startup had shares withdrawn to meet tax withholding requirements associated with the vesting of restricted stock units, according to the filings. Kevin McAleenan, the CEO, sold 4,663 shares for $5.50, leaving him with 1,213,985 shares that he personally owns. General Counsel and Secretary Carolyn Blankenship had 5,945 shares withheld, leaving her with 650,257 shares, while Chief Financial Officer Sean Ricker had 6,625 shares sold at the same price, keeping 480,864 shares.

Form 4 filings made to the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that the transactions were dated December 31, 2025.

These share sales follow the company’s announcement that it would drastically enhance its balance sheet by lowering its outstanding convertible debt. A notification requesting the redemption of all existing notes was recently sent by BigBear.ai to holders of its 6.00% Convertible Senior Secured Notes, which are due in 2029.

Through a combination of noteholder voluntary conversions and redemption of any outstanding notes, the firm anticipates eliminating around $125 million of debt, bringing its total note-related debt down from about $142 million to about $17 million.

About the Author

I’m Gourav Kumar Singh, a graduate by education and a blogger by passion. Since starting my blogging journey in 2020, I have worked in digital marketing and content creation. Read more about me.