Australian Economy – The Australian economy produced good GDP figures for the June quarter, strengthened particularly by exports and government spending. There was also a big jump in the number of employed Australians, though rate steady at 5.6%1.
Global Economy – Hurricanes batter the US, which as President Trump so eloquently put, has "thrown the budget out of whack". In all, the cost of this year's hurricane season is likely to be well above the $40 billion that the US federal government has increased its disaster relief budget by. There are also signs that US employment growth may be slowing, and this at the same time that rates may start heading up. UK's Carney has also moved into the rate hike camp as Brexit talks start to head in to full swing2.
Investment Markets – The Australian sharemarket continued its sideways movement in September, retreating marginally. Most other markets rose, with the U.S. up 2%, Japan up 3.5% and Europe up over 5%3.
Outlook – With some steam coming out of the US economy, high stock prices are expected to test the endurance of bull market investors. This comes at the same time as most central banks are looking to tighten monetary policy, a stance which might need reviewing should markets hit any significant roadblocks.
S&P/ASX 200 – 12 months to 30 September 2017
Source: Core Equity Services
Footnotes: 1. Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2. US Dept of Labor; 3. Bloomberg data.