The New Zealand stock market limped into the new year with the NZSE 50 recording a small loss of -0.2% for the month of December. Despite falling -6.5% over the last quarter the NZSE 50 was up a very respectable +8.8% for the year, an increase of +16.6% from its February nadir.
The Australian market (ASX 200) rose 3.0% in November whereas small cap stocks were generally out of favour with the Small Ords falling -1.2%, and the NZX 50 down -0.9%. There was talk that the banking sell-off has been overdone, with financials the leading sector (+6.0%) while a number of our managers highlighted the market's rotation out of higher quality and defensive stocks trading at higher P/E multiples and into lower quality cyclical stocks trading at lower multiples.
In September equity markets were subdued with the largest move being a -2.6% fall in the Japanese market. US stocks fell -0.1%, Europe gained 0.2%, the UK was up +1.7%, Emerging Markets +1.3%, Australia +0.4% and NZ fell -0.5%.
Global markets fell in October on the back of a resurgence of Donal Trump after the FBI decided to re-open their case against Hilary Clinton. Global equities fell -1.7% in USDs and the USD weakened.
Globally, most major markets eked out small positive returns in August, although in the majority of instances this was more than offset by strength in the NZD.
