China's $5 trillion rout creates historic gap with Indian stocks

The relentless plunge in China’s stocks has burnished the appeal of their biggest emerging-market rival India, spurring a divergence that’s rarely been seen before. 

The MSCI India Index rallied almost 10% in the just-ended quarter, compared with a 23% slump for the MSCI China Index. The 33-percentage point outperformance by the India gauge is the biggest since March 2000.

Beijing’s Covid Zero pursuit, regulatory crackdowns and tensions with the West have led to a $5 trillion rout in Chinese stocks since early 2021. And India -- long dubbed the “next China” -- has become an attractive alternative with economic growth