Russia Leads 'BRIC' Fund Performance

As U.S. markets slipped on hope and pessimism about the potential winners and losers from President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package, it's a good idea to keep an eye on emerging markets. For the five trading days ending Feb. 12, the average emerging markets fund we track gained 0.36%.

The real action last week was in the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Country-specific funds targeting Russian stocks averaged a rebound of 13.8%, while India funds rose an average of 3.2%. The iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund (EWZ Quote) is the only pure, proxy fund for the "B" in BRIC we track. It was up 1.24%. China funds fell 1.3% on average.

Inflows to emerging markets funds totaled $500 million for the week ending Feb. 11, as Russian equity funds observed their biggest weekly inflow since October, according to Bank of America(BAC Quote) strategist Michael Hartnett. Emerging market funds had suffered outflows since June. ...