Emerging Markets Rise on Yellen Comments, China Growth Outlook

Emerging-markets stocks rose for the first time in four days as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reassured investors that policy makers will raise U.S. interest rates slowly and a surprise increase in China’s producer prices signaled that the nation’s economic slowdown is stabilizing.

MSCI Inc.’s developing-nation equity gauge rose 0.7 percent to 897.03 after Yellen said in a speech that there are “plausible ways” that running the U.S. economy hot for a while could be beneficial, easing concern that policy makers may speed up the pace of borrowing-cost increases. The comments came after data showed Chinese factory-gate prices rose for the first time since 2012. The Ibovespa jumped to the highest level since 2014 in Sao Paulo on speculation that the central bank may lower borrowing costs next week after the Brazilian state-controlled oil company surprisingly cut fuel prices.