Emerging markets are expected to enjoy a relief rally as the Federal Reserve delays the inevitable hike in interest rates, but avoid chasing it, say strategists, as gains are likely to be fleeting.
"I think in the short-term, emerging markets will be supported because the Federal Reserve didn't tighten. Basically, there's little bit less pressure for U.S. dollar to appreciate, a little bit more liquidity," said Viktor Shvets, head of Asian strategy at Macquarie Securities.
"There'll be some relief particularly, in places like Indonesia, Malaysia, up to places like Brazil, South Africa, Russia. Will it last? The answer is no."
The U.S. central bank on Thursday held off on raising rates amid heightened "uncertainties abroad," including China's economic weakness as well as sluggish inflation at home. A rate hike would have ended a nearly 7-year-old zero interest rate policy.
Despite the weak lead from Wall Street overnight, Asian emerging market stocks clocked modest gains on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite (Shanghai Stock Exchange: .SSEC), Indonesia's Jakarta Composite (Jakarta Stock Exchange: .JKSE) and Vietnam's VN Index traded up between 0.4 and 0.9 percent. The broader MSCI Emerging Markets index (NYSE Arca: EEM) edged up 0.7 percent.
To be sure, some remain optimistic about the long term growth prospects of emerging market economies.
"There will be bumps, there will be ups and downs and they are not a problem, they are normal part of development of an economy," Tidjane Thiam, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse told CNBC in an exclusive interview.
Thiam also noted that economic fundamentals in China remain strong.
"We want the Chinese economy to be integrated in the financial system. that means like any other economy, depending on actors' expectations, money will go out, money will go in. To paint that as a crisis, it's more of a normalization," Thiam said.
One reason the bounce in emerging markets will be short-lived is because the U.S. dollar is likely resume its uptrend within a matter of days as investors shift their focus to a potential rate hike in October or December, says Uwe Parpart, director and head of research at Reorient Financial Markets.
"You'll see the dollar resuming its strengthening trend as early as next week. The FX markets don't just look at present values, they look out to the next 3-6 months, during which time we'll almost certainly see rates up by 25-50 basis points," Parpart said.