Weekly Insight Aug 21

The Japanese equities showed a weaker performance as economic fundamentals continue to weigh down on the market. The Nikkei 225 Index lost 2.59% (-0.76% in US$ terms) and the TOPIX Index ​​shed 4.02% (-2.22% in US$ terms) over the month of July.

The virus continued its spread across emerging markets, the BRICS countries except China continue to rank just behind the US in total cases.

Although the epidemic situation in Europe remains under relative control, infection figures in some countries regained traction. European equities showed weakness, but the Euro significantly strengthened. Over the month of July, the European STOXX 600 Index slightly fell 1.11%, but gained 3.71% in US$ terms.

Chinese markets continued the surge in July, as uplifting economic headlines provide ample support to the market. The CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 12.75% (14.21% in USD) and 10.90% (12.33% in USD) respectively, while the Hang Seng Index slightly rose 0.69% (0.69% in USD).

Markets remain unfazed although the second wave epidemic continued to ravage across the country, as the impacts of the ongoing epidemic have already been taken into account. US equities continued the strong performance as markets looked past the covid crisis, the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and NASDAQ gained 5.51%, 2.38%, and 6.82% in July respectively.

All fixed income indexes in focus went up in July. With the global quantitative easing continuing into the second half of the year, bonds see very limited downward pressure.

Weekly Insight Aug 14