Market Update 22 October Investment markets & key developments US shares made it to a new high in the past week helped by strong earnings results and good economic data, and Chinese shares rose but European and Japanese shares pulled back slightly. The positive US lead also saw Australian shares rise helped by reopening optimism led by gains from property, IT, retail and financial shares. Bond yields resumed their upswing with 10-year bond yields in the …
Five reasons why the Australian dollar is likely to resume its upswing over the next 12 months Key Points Since its February high of around $US0.80 the $A the $A has fallen on the back of global growth concerns, a slowdown in China and the Delta outbreak in Australia. However, there is good reason to expect the $A to resume its rising trend: sentiment towards the $A is negative; global growth is likely to …
Inflation – why it matters for investment markets Key points The shift from high inflation to low inflation has been a key tailwind for investment returns over the last 40 years – in particular it has allowed capital growth in excess of growth in earnings and rents. A long-term stabilisation in inflation around central bank targets which is our base case would remove this tailwind but still allow reasonable returns, whereas a sustained break …
Joe Biden on track to become US president – implications for investors and Australia Key points The US election has been close and final counting as well as legal challenges could still upset the result, but the now highly likely outcome is a Biden Presidency. While there is a possibility that the Democrats could win control of the Senate via runoff elections in Georgia, the most likely outcome is that Democrats will retain control …
Mixed outlook for Australian housing amid prolonged pandemic A relatively high rate of unemployment across the nation, coupled with a freeze on immigration, and consequently population growth, might ordinarily spell bad news for the housing market. Instead, Australian capital city average dwelling prices rose 0.2% in October, according to CoreLogic, the first monthly gain since April and hot on the heels of a cumulative contraction of almost 3% between April and September. Prices …
Market Update 04 September 2020 Investment markets and key developments over the past week US shares hit another record high mid-week only to be reversed by the end of the week because of a big fall in tech shares, which have been driving the rebound in US equities since the March lows. The US S&P is down by 1.5% over the week, with the tech sector (which has the biggest weight in the index) down …
Shares climb a “wall of worry” – but is it sustainable? Key points The strong rally in shares since their March lows reflects a combination of economic reopening, signs of recovery, policy stimulus and once pessimistic investors closing underweight or short positions. Shares are vulnerable to a short-term consolidation or pullback. But if we are right, and April was the low in economic conditions, then shares are likely to be higher on a 6 to …
Introduction After a roughly 35% plunge from their February high point to their lows around 23rd March, global and Australian shares have had a 15-20% rally. What’s more this rally has occurred despite increasingly bleak economic data ranging from plunges in business conditions surveys or PMIs (see the next chart) to a record 10 million surge over two weeks in claims for unemployment payments in the US. Volatility remains very high but at least we …
High times for low interest rates With mortgage rates at their lowest since the days of black and white TV, this might be the right time to make a serious dent in your home loan. Lower rates mean any money you have in the bank could be earning less interest. But if you have a variable home loan rate and your lender passes on the cut, you’ll pay off more of your loan faster just …
What high household debt means for investors “High house-hold debt is Australia’s Achilles heel,” says AMP Capital Head of Investment Strategy and Economics and Chief Economist, Shane Oliver. “I’ve been thinking this for many years now and yet it seems to keep going higher.” Latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics puts total household liabilities at $2.466 trillion, or 199.7 percent of disposable income, putting it among the highest in the world. Australians have …
