Valuations of Asian equities 14-month high in April

Valuations of Asian equities reached a 14-month high at the end of April as regional shares rallied on optimism about Chinese economic data and the prospects for a US-China trade deal. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares gained 1.6 per cent in April. According to Refinitiv, the region's forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) was 13.2 times at the end of last month, the highest since February 2018. Despite gains in April, the regional index was still trading at a discount to the MSCI All Country World index's forward P/E of 15.2, suggesting Asian stocks were still cheaper than global peers. At end-April, Indian and Malaysian stocks were the most expensive with price-to-earnings ratios of 17.2 and 15.6 respectively, according to Refinitiv.

— Thomson Reuters