Market Update

Investors reactions to market volatility couldn't be more at odds over the last few weeks. While one cohort has rushed for cash and safety, the other has seized a share-buying opportunity. The divergence in views is of course that some investors see an end in sight and are looking to pick up shares at marked down prices, while others believe the market is expensive in the face of poor economic conditions. All the while, most people are watching from [...]

Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets pulled back over the last week as oil prices fell further, not helped by poor economic data. However, the falls were relatively mild compared to the 20% plus rally from the March low point. Property, industrial, retail and health stocks fell the hardest. Bond yields fell in the US but rose slightly in Europe and Australia. Oil, metal and iron ore prices fell and the $A also fell slightly [...]

Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets, with the exception of European shares, pushed higher again over the last week on ongoing signs that the coronavirus curve is flattening in a number of countries which is resulting in a move towards relaxing lockdowns amidst promising reports regarding anti-viral drug tests. For the week US shares rose 3%, Japanese shares gained 2%, Chinese shares rose 1.9% and Eurozone shares fell 0.3%. While Australian energy stocks were hit [...]

Investment markets and key developments over the past week Share markets pushed higher again over the past week on the back of a declining number of new coronavirus cases in several countries raising the prospect of a relaxation in shutdowns, as policy stimulus measures continued to provide confidence that the economic downturn may be relatively short and as talk of a cut in global oil production boosted energy shares. While Australian banks were hit on talk of dividend suspensions [...]

The world just passed 1 million COVID-19 infections (Thursday). Tragically 53,000 people have now died, but, more than 208,000 have recovered. The pandemic (declared as such on March 11 by the World Health Organisation) has spread to 181 countries and at least one-third of the world is now under some type of lockdown. In this article 'a complete timeline of the coronavirus pandemic' (click here), Business Insider depicts the most significand events and moments that have defined the pandemic [...]

Investment markets and key developments over the past week Coronavirus concerns continued to create volatility in investment markets over the past week, but the good news is that it remains both up and down volatility on a day to day basis as opposed to straight down as was the case up until a couple of weeks ago. US, European and Japanese shares gave up some of their gains from the previous week, but Chinese and Australian shares rose, with the [...]

Investment markets and key developments over the past week After 30% plus falls from their highs earlier this year, share markets had a welcome rebound over the last week. While the number of coronavirus cases continues to soar and economic data beyond China is now starting to show the huge impact from the shutdowns, share markets managed to rebound because a lot of bad news had already been factored in and a government and central bank stimulus measures are now [...]

It has been five weeks that has changed the world. Whilst we cannot influence the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak nor manage the market's reaction to it, we can keep you well-informed about what is happening in the economy and the markets and what it means for you. Our team are working hard to analyse events and help guide you to the best possible outcomes. This is a summary of the week that was. Markets Our Observations Fear [...]