It’s time to look ahead and make bold predictions for Asia in 2026. After a standout year, Asian equities are on track to beat the S&P 500 by the widest margin in eight years. Can the rally continue, and which markets will lead? Are investors overlooking US funding stress, potential QE, and the risks behind multi-decade tight credit spreads? And what’s next for Asian currencies and gold?

Asia Centric convenes Bloomberg Intelligence strategists for a forward-looking discussion. Host John Lee is joined by Senior Equity Strategist Marvin Chen, Chief Asia FX Strategist Stephen Chiu and Senior Credit Strategist Timothy Tan as they unpack AI-driven growth, shifting currency dynamics, structural liquidity risks, and the potential repatriation of trillions in global capital back to Asia.

It&rsquo;s time to look ahead and make bold predictions for Asia in 2026. After a standout year, Asian equities are on track to beat the S&amp;P 500 by the widest margin in eight years. Can the rally continue, and which markets will lead? Are investors overlooking US funding stress, potential QE, and the risks behind multi-decade tight credit spreads? And what&rsquo;s next for Asian currencies and gold?
Asia Centric convenes Bloomberg Intelligence strategists for a forward-looking discussion. Host John Lee is joined by Senior Equity Strategist Marvin Chen, Chief Asia FX Strategist Stephen Chiu and Senior Credit Strategist Timothy Tan as they unpack AI-driven growth, shifting currency dynamics, structural liquidity risks, and the potential repatriation of trillions in global capital back to Asia.

Some of the world's largest and fastest-growing markets, economies and companies are in Asia. Every Thursday, John Lee from Bloomberg Intelligence speaks with experts and newsmakers about the big ideas and trends moving money across the region.

Some of the world's largest and fastest-growing markets, economies and companies are in Asia. Every Thursday, John Lee from Bloomberg Intelligence speaks with experts and newsmakers about the big ideas and trends moving money across the region.

Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence

2026 Lookahead for Stocks, Bonds and Currencies

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/59cfdc73-6559-4b52-8e3a-b3a8009ce81e/transcript

Global military budgets are surging at a pace unseen since the Cold War, fueling a defense-spending supercycle. NATO allies are aiming to spend up to 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, while Asian powers such as Japan and South Korea are also boosting spending. This environment has been a boon for defense stocks, with South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace rising a spectacular 2,600% since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, even eclipsing Rheinmetall's 1,700% run.

Is the defense spending supercycle sustainable? And which companies and countries stand to benefit from this surge? Wayne Sanders, senior defense analyst and retired US army colonel, and Eric Zhu, aerospace and defense analyst – both at Bloomberg Intelligence – join John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast. They also discuss the evolving roles of air defense, hypersonics and space in future conflicts.

Global military budgets are surging at a pace unseen since the Cold War, fueling a defense-spending supercycle. NATO allies are aiming to spend up to 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, while Asian powers such as Japan and South Korea are also boosting spending. This environment has been a boon for defense stocks, with South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace rising a spectacular 2,600% since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, even eclipsing Rheinmetall's 1,700% run.
Is the defense spending supercycle sustainable? And which companies and countries stand to benefit from this surge? Wayne Sanders, senior defense analyst and retired US army colonel, and Eric Zhu, aerospace and defense analyst &ndash; both at Bloomberg Intelligence &ndash; join John Lee on the Asia Centric podcast. They also discuss the evolving roles of air defense, hypersonics and space in future conflicts.

Is the Global Defense Supercycle Sustainable?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/28b3ad9d-66fe-42bb-94b6-b3e0008d3056/transcript

Humanoid robots have become one of the hottest investment themes, with a basket of Asian-related stocks rising more than 70% over the past year. The technology stole the show at CES 2026 with eye-opening demos from Boston Dynamics and Unitree, while expectations for Tesla's Optimus are increasing as the company races toward production this year.

Yet, expectations may be outpacing commercial reality. While some street estimates project revenue in the hundreds of billions, Bloomberg Intelligence takes a more measured view, forecasting a $5 billion total addressable market for automotive assembly by 2035.

Takeshi Kitaura, senior industrials analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, joins host John Lee to dissect the sector's outlook. They explore the emergence of “physical AI”, the viability of replacing human labor on factory floors, and whether the US or China holds the advantage in this evolving race.

Humanoid robots have become one of the hottest investment themes, with a basket of Asian-related stocks rising more than 70% over the past year. The technology stole the show at CES 2026 with eye-opening demos from Boston Dynamics and Unitree, while expectations for Tesla's Optimus are increasing as the company races toward production this year.
Yet, expectations may be outpacing commercial reality. While some street estimates project revenue in the hundreds of billions, Bloomberg Intelligence takes a more measured view, forecasting a $5 billion total addressable market for automotive assembly by 2035.
Takeshi Kitaura, senior industrials analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, joins host John Lee to dissect the sector's outlook. They explore the emergence of &ldquo;physical AI&rdquo;, the viability of replacing human labor on factory floors, and whether the US or China holds the advantage in this evolving race.

Decoding the Multi-Billion Dollar Humanoid Market

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/804da958-a26c-485e-bb86-b3d9007efaa6/transcript

India's stock market has seen an explosion in retail participation, skyrocketing to more than 125 million registered investors from 20 million pre-pandemic. While 70% of these new investors are under 30, the boom is broad based: female participation has surged to nearly a quarter of the market, and half of all accounts now hail from rural areas. However, this new cohort's desire for "instant gratification" has fueled a speculative frenzy in derivatives, prompting regulator SEBI to step in with new rules to cool the market.

Jayprakash Gupta, founder of online trading platform Dhan, joins John Lee to explain how wide-ranging digitization efforts – from banking access to mobile penetration – laid the foundation for this growth. He discusses the impact of SEBI's recent crackdown on trading volumes and explains why he remains bullish on India's financial markets, pointing to low penetration rates, strong mutual fund inflows and a robust pipeline of IPOs.

India's stock market has seen an explosion in retail participation, skyrocketing to more than 125 million registered investors from 20 million pre-pandemic. While 70% of these new investors are under 30, the boom is broad based: female participation has surged to nearly a quarter of the market, and half of all accounts now hail from rural areas. However, this new cohort's desire for "instant gratification" has fueled a speculative frenzy in derivatives, prompting regulator SEBI to step in with new rules to cool the market.
Jayprakash Gupta, founder of online trading platform Dhan, joins John Lee to explain how wide-ranging digitization efforts &ndash; from banking access to mobile penetration &ndash; laid the foundation for this growth. He discusses the impact of SEBI's recent crackdown on trading volumes and explains why he remains bullish on India's financial markets, pointing to low penetration rates, strong mutual fund inflows and a robust pipeline of IPOs.

Gen Z, Women and Rural India Drive Trading Boom

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/74dbd150-e206-4800-b12b-b3d200a77770/transcript

2026 Lookahead for Stocks, Bonds and Currencies

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