Equities: Horrible week for investors - Westpac

Analysts at Westpac suggest that it’s been a horrible week for equity investors, with savage losses across global indices.

Key Quotes

“At the lows on Wednesday, the S&P 500 had erased all of this year’s gains, the MSCI global index was down 7.6% for the year, European stocks were down 10% and emerging market stocks down 17%.”

“While US stocks did regain some ground on Thursday, it’s clear that a range of factors are weighing on sentiment. These include the US-China trade war, Saudi tensions and the risk of even higher oil prices, a hard Brexit, the Italian budget and higher global bond yields. However, equity markets appear to be ignoring positive fundamentals including strong US economic growth and still-elevated corporate profits.”

“Amidst all this carnage in global equity markets, the US dollar was generally strong, especially against the British pound (Brexit again) and the euro (Italian budget and a wary ECB leaving open the option of a dovish shift at the December meeting).”