Weekly Market Update – 19th August 2024
Investment markets and key developments Share markets continued their recovery over the last week helped along by expectations that “Goldilocks” conditions will prevail, with a further slowing in US inflation leaving the Fed on track to cut rates and reasonable economic data helping allay recession fears for now. US shares rose 3.9% for the week making it their strongest week for the year, Eurozone shares rose 3.1% and Japanese shares gained 8.7%. Chinese shares rose 0.4% supported by hopes for more policy stimulus after more soft economic [...]
Weekly Market Update – 12th August 2024
Investment markets and key developments Following a bad start to the week on worries about a US recession made worse by investors rushing to unwind risky positions in response including Yen carry trades, shares then clawed back their losses helped by better-than-expected US economic data and comments from the Bank of Japan that it will not raise rates in “unstable markets.” This left Eurozone shares up 0.6% for the week, US shares flat (or -0.04% to be precise), but Japanese shares down 2.5% and Chinese shares down [...]
Weekly Market Update – 5th August 2024
Investment markets and key developments Risk off with shares down again, bond yields down, commodity prices down and the $A down. Shares got a boost mid-week from firming expectations for Fed rate cuts, but this gave way again to renewed concerns about weaker economic growth after weak US jobs data and concerns that we have seen the best for tech stocks as tech earnings results have been mixed. For the week US shares fell 2.1%, Eurozone shares fell 4.2%, Japanese shares fell 4.7% not helped by a [...]
Weekly Market Update – 26th July 2024
Investment markets and key developments Global share markets mostly fell over the last week on the back of softer than hoped for big tech earnings, concerns about growth and political uncertainty in the US. US shares got a boost on Friday from better inflation data but fell 0.8% for the week with weakness remaining concentrated in IT shares as a rotation away from tech continues to support small caps with the Russell 2000 up 3.5% for the week and 10.4% this month. Eurozone shares rose 0.3% for [...]
A FinSec View – Markets, Super Taxation, NDIS and More…
26th July 2024 Global Affairs and Market Update There is a lot going on in the world right now! The combination of favourable weather in the northern hemisphere, several major cultural and national celebrations, annual sporting events such as Tour de France, Wimbledon and The Open, in addition to the Olympics, has meant this July has been a particularly active and eventful month globally. Politically, we’ ve seen the UK dump the Conservatives after 14 years and elect a Labor Government under Sir Keir Starmer; [...]
A FinSec View – Markets, SOFY, US Elections and More…
28th June 2024 Market Update Another RBA meeting, another month of rates on hold at 4.35%. This remains unchanged for six months. Governor Bullock has expressed concern about potential upside risks to inflation and reserved the right for further rate hikes. So...No reprieve for mortgage holders just yet. Our view remains unchanged: a policy rate of 4.35% is materially tight. You can see this in the percentage of household income being set aside to pay mortgages and it is clearly slowing growth. Australian real GDP [...]
A FinSec View – The Budget, Markets, Aged Pension & More…
31st May 2024 Federal Budget '24: Soothing Inflation Instead of Fighting it? Australian Federal Budgets rarely make anyone happy. Something about the media hype 48 hours or so around Budget night seems to infect broader Australia with the grumps as everyone makes hay piling in on the Treasurer and his economic plan. Economist Chris Richardson, writing in the AFR, confessed to being particularly grumpy about Jim Chalmer’s Budget claiming it is rich in politics, and poor on policy. The Government expects its cost-of-living package ($3.5bn worth of [...]
A FinSec View – Markets, Unemployment rates, Tax reforms & More…
24th April 2024 Market Overview Just when we were getting used to the idea of markets looking ahead into a recovery, April has seen a reality check. Having rallied by 17% since October a combination of an escalation in the Middle East and the realisation by markets that rates might be higher for longer, saw the calendar year’s gains (about 3.5% at the peak) taken away in a matter of days. Inflation is proving stickier than expected meaning markets have repriced on the assumption that [...]