Market Update – September 2016

Key points:

• The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 1.50% during the September board meeting. The rate was also left unchanged during the October board meeting. 
• In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate and the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate rose by 0.06% and 0.04%, respectively, in September.
• Spreads on Australian corporate debt rose in September, as indicated by the iTraxx Australian Index rising 4.60 points, to end the month at 104.57. 
• Australian shares were relatively flat, with the All Ordinaries Index declining -0.08% and the S&P/ASX 200 Index rising 0.05%. 
• Domestic listed property fell by -4.39%, underperforming the broader share market.
• Global equities recorded mixed results across regions, with Japan the worst performing market, as denoted by the TOPIX (Japan) Index declining -0.51%. The UK added 1.74%, to be the best performer, as measured by the FTSE 100 (UK) Index. 
• Gold and Oil prices continued their recent uptrend, increasing by 1.04% and 7.00% respectively, in September. Iron Ore prices continued to decline, falling -4.20% in September. The overall CRB Spot Commodity Index fell by -0.19% in US Dollar terms.
• The Australian Dollar rose against most currencies in September; gaining 1.54% against the US Dollar, 0.92% against the Euro, and 2.54% versus the British Pound, indicating a further depreciation of the Pound. The Australian Dollar fell -0.45% against the Japanese Yen in September.
• The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) rose by 1.11% over the month, ending September at 63.90.
• Share market volatility fell marginally both domestically (-0.20%) and in the US (-0.13%).

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 Source:       Zenith Investment Partners