Market Update – 31st August 2015

• The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 2.00% at both the August and September meetings. 
• In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate was marginally up by 0.01% while the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate fell by -0.12% over the month.
• The Australian Share market had a negative month, with the All Ordinaries Index and the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling by -8.09% and -8.64%, respectively.
• AREITs outperformed the broader equity market, despite reporting a loss of -4.83%, as measured by the ASX 300 Property Index.
• International shares were down across the board, with Hong Kong continuing to be the worst performing region, falling by -12.04% over the month.
• The US was the best performing equity market in August, despite falling by -6.57% and -6.26%, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 Index, respectively.
• Gold and oil prices recovered over the month, gaining 3.33% and 4.41%, respectively, in US Dollar terms. The commodity price overall fell by -0.99%, as measured by the US$ CRB Spot Commodity Index.
• The Australian Dollar continued to depreciate. In particular, it fell by -1.99% against the US Dollar,-4.72% against the Euro, -0.86% versus the British Pound and -4.29% against the Japanese Yen. 
• The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) fell from 61.40 to 60.90 points over the month, indicating a further fall in Australia’s international competitiveness.
• Share market volatility surged both domestically and abroad, with the S&P/ASX 200 Volatility Index and the US VIX Volatility Index increasing by 11.53% and -16.31%, respectively. 

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 Source:       Zenith Investment Partner