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Global Investment MattersExamining Equity Markets
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This weekUnderstanding Risk ManagementBy Stephen Nguyen, CFA
..blending equity style factors can deliver more efficient returns
Market SnapshotsOctober 2 2023
• Global equities fell 0.9% last week
• All major indices saw declines as the prospect of longer-term high interest rates in Europe and the US weighed on investor sentiment
• Brent Crude oil rose 2.2% to $95.31 a barrel
• Gold fell 4.0% to $1848.63 per ounce
Key Global Market Developments
USA
• US equities fell 0.7% last week
• The US narrowly averted a disruptive and costly shutdown of federal agencies as Congress passed compromise legislation to keep the government running until 17 November 2023
• The Conference Board’s gauge of US consumer confidence dipped to 103.0 in September 2023, a reading that was below expectations and down from the preceding month’s upwardly revised reading of 108.7
• The United Auto Workers union escalated its strike against the big three US automakers on Friday, as industrial action entered its third week
UK
• UK equities fell 0.8% last week
• Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has pledged to end the ‘vicious circle of ever-rising taxes’ by reforming the benefits system and tackling the spiralling cost of public services
• Mortgage approvals fell to the lowest level in six months in August 2023, as prospective homeowners stayed away from the property market and average mortgage costs approached 5%
• Revised official figures show the UK economy performed better than France and Germany since the pandemic; delivering a boost to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
EUROZONE
• European equities fell 0.7% last week
• European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde and Chief Economist Philip Lane reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a restrictive monetary policy for an extended period to bring inflation back to the 2% target
• Consumer prices increased 4.3% annually in September - weaker than forecast and the slowest pace in about two years. This inflation rate was a marked improvement from the 5.2% registered in August 2023
REST OF THE WORLD
• Global emerging market equities fell 1.1% last week
• Japanese equities fell 1.4%
• Chinese equities fell 1.3%
• Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida outlined a new economic stimulus plan last week, the details of which are to be
decided in October and which will be funded by a supplementary budget
• China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi are discussing possible visits to Washington DC to prepare for a potential summit between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden
