2019 – Another year of growth underwritten by Central banks You may recall at the end of 2018 we saw a large correction down in the S&P500 of around -20% as investors in US shares sold out on fear of rising rates and slowing growth. Enter the US Federal Reserve with a change in monetary policy from tightening (raising rates) to loosening policy (dropping rates). Interest rates in US and around the globe fell, however the world continued to slow with the global Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) moving into negative
Share market review Over the past 12-months most share markets have produced positive returns with only the Japanese Nikkei index producing a negative return in local currency. The remainder have produced low single digit positive performance except for the NZX and ASX which have produced attractive double digit returns. As shown above the NZX50 has had a solid 12-month performance. This rally has occurred on the back of slowing local and global markets, which has led to falling local interest rates, and an increased level of foreign ownership (53.7%).
