Asian stocks' valuations hit near 2-year high in Nov -Refinitiv data
Dec 6 (Reuters) - Asian equities' valuations climbed to a near two-year high in November, as regional stocks gained for the third straight month on hopes of an earnings recovery next year due to easing U.S.-China trade tensions and improving global demand.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose for the third successive month in November, pushing its 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) to a 23-month high of 13.8 times at the end of November, Refinitiv data showed.
"We think that Asian equities can sustain above average PE valuation levels as earnings recover and valuation remains attractive versus global equities," DBS bank said in a report this week.
MSCI World index's forward P/E was about 16, at the end of last month.
India, Malaysia and Thailand were the most expensive in the region, with ratios of 17.1,15.6 and 15.2, respectively, the data showed.
On the other hand, China, Hong Kong and South Korea had the cheapest shares in the region, with P/E multiples of 9.1, 10.6 and 10.8, respectively.
Last month, the United States and China signalled that they made substantial progress towards the 'phase one' trade deal. This week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that trade talks with China were going "very well", reinforcing expectations of an interim trade deal.
(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugbaoopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
