Weekly Market Recap
Turn it around
06/12/2021
Week in review
- Australia real GDP contracted by 1.9% q/q in 3Q
- Australia building approvals fell 12.9% m/m in October
- Australia retail sales increased 4.9% m/m in October
Week ahead
- RBA official cash rate
- China CPI inflation
- U.S. CPI inflation
Thought of the week
Markets are being buffeted by the cross winds of the omicron COVID variant and a hawkish turn by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The elevated uncertainty on the economic and rates outlook is likely to keep the market on its toes for the next couple of weeks. But investors should not lose sight of the strength of the underlying economic momentum. The November round of purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) from around the world painted a less than ominous picture of global economic outlook. The headline manufacturing PMI has been relatively steady since August at around 54, indicating ongoing economic expansion. Below the headline there are positive messages around easing pressures in supply bottlenecks as supply delivery times improve and output levels turn. The magnitude of the risk around a resurgence in COVID cases and the public policy response are not yet clear, but the fundamentals of the economy are looking better.
Signs of a turn for the better
Global PMI for manufacturing
Source: Markit, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Data reflect most recently available as of 03/12/21.
All returns in local currency unless otherwise stated.
Equity price levels and returns: Levels are prices and returns represent total returns for stated period.
Bond yields and returns: Yields are yield to maturity for government bonds and yield to worst for corporate bonds. All returns represent total returns. AusBond Comp is the AusBond Composite 0+ Yr, AusBond IG is the AusBond Credit 0+ Yr both provided by Bloomberg.
Currencies: All cross rates are against the Australian dollar. An appreciation of the foreign currency against the Australian dollar would be positive and a depreciation of the foreign currency against the Australian dollar would be negative.
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