If You Fear U.S.​Inflation, Buy Asia

Global stocks are panicking because U.S. wages are picking up. Is that logical?

Certainly higher, wage-driven inflation in the U.S.—and a more aggressive Federal Reserve—is bad news for many U.S. stocks, particularly those of the ultra-frothy tech variety. And higher U.S. interest rates have a tendency to suck liquidity out of emerging-market bonds. But higher American wages are quite good news for one notable asset class: Asian exporters. And if higher U.S. rates also help steady the falling dollar, that would head off one...