MSCI adds Saudi, Argentina to index, emerging markets to grow by $600 bn

Saudi Arabia and Argentina, pummeled by a currency rout that prompted it to seek help from IMF, join the likes of China, India

Emerging market stocks are about to get a $600 billion boost.

That’s how much the asset class will expand after MSCI Inc. said on Wednesday it will add both Saudi Arabia and Argentina to its equity index of developing nations. Neither decision was assured, and together, they could prompt a relief rally after a selloff knocked $2.7 trillion from emerging economies since late January amid threats of a global trade war and higher US rates.

Saudi Arabia — home to the Middle East’s biggest bourse — and Argentina, pummeled by a currency rout that prompted it to seek help from the International