South African Market Commentary: June 2025
SA markets close Q2 strong, but growth remains fragile South African equities closed the second quarter on a positive note, supported by broad-based gains and a rebound in commodity prices.…
Global Market Commentary: June 2025
Markets climb despite geopolitical volatility in June Global markets remained volatile in June, driven largely by renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and economic shifts across major regions. A…
Emerging Markets update: May 2025
The US-China standoff remained a dominant theme in May. However, green shoots emerged as Presidents Trump and Xi agreed to a significant rollback of reciprocal tariffs. Emerging market equities saw gains over the month, albeit underperforming relative to developed market equities. South Africa and Mexico led within emerging markets while Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Korea were notable contributors. The MSCI Emerging Markets Equity Index ended the month 4.3% higher, while the MSCI World experienced a 5.9% uptick.
Global Market Commentary: May 2025
May sees strong market gains Global markets advanced strongly in May, supported by a temporary easing in global trade tensions, strong corporate earnings, and more stable monetary policy expectations. The…
South African Market Commentary: May 2025
Inflation, rate cuts and modest market gains shape SA’s May outlook South Africa’s economy showed mixed signals in May 2025. Inflation edged up slightly to 2.8% year-on-year, driven by higher…
May China Market update
In May, China's equity markets marked a month of recovery, regaining much of the ground lost following the sharp imposition of Trump-era tariffs around Liberation Day. The MSCI China ,…
Our take on tariffs
China’s equity markets declined by low to mid-single digits in April, marked by heightened intra-month volatility following the unexpected announcement of new Trump-era tariffs. Beneath these headlines, investors broadly sold off companies with significant overseas revenue exposure, while rotating into domestic consumption and self-sufficiency themes, perceived as beneficiaries of the ongoing US-China decoupling.
South African Market Commentary: April 2025
Easing inflation and market gains signal cautious optimism for SA South Africa’s annual CPI eased to 2.7% in March, driven by lower fuel prices and softer education costs. GDP growth…
Global Market Commentary: April 2025
Markets unsettled by US trade shocks and global growth concerns April saw global markets unsettled by renewed US trade tensions and recession concerns, despite some regional resilience. Volatility spiked after…
Emerging Markets update: April 2025
Global equities came under pressure in April as U.S. President Trump surprised the markets with much larger than expected tariffs against virtually every trading partner in the world. On 2 April, during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, he introduced what he called a “reciprocal tariff” strategy, which applies a series of tariffs on all U.S. imports based loosely on each trading partner’s goods trade deficit with the U.S.
