Key Points: - The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced a 50 basis point (bp) cut on the 1st of May, defying many analysts' predictions of a 25 bp rate cut.
- The 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate declined by 49bp during May, to account for the greater than anticipated decline in the cash rate, while also pricing in a future rate cut.
- Australian Equities recorded a heavy decline, with the price of the ASX All Ordinaries Index falling by 7.46%, while the S&P / ASX 200 Index price fell 7.29%.
- Australian Listed Property outperformed the broader ASX All Ordinaries Index, yet still declined by 1.35%, as measured by the S&P / ASX 300 A-REIT Index.
- Many major regional share markets posted negative returns during May, with the TOPIX (Japan) declining by 10.54% and the Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong) retreating by 11.68%. UK Equities also posted a significant price decline, with the FTSE 100 declining by 7.27%.
- The price of gold fell by 6.27%, wiping out gains from the past 12 months.
- The price of West Texas Crude oil declined 17.49% during May.
- The Australian Dollar declined against most major currencies. The most significant decline was against the Japanese Yen (JPY) where the Australian Dollar (AUD) depreciated by 8.26%. The AUD fell by 6.58% against the US Dollar (USD) and fell by 4.42% in absolute terms, as measured by the Trade Weighted Index (TWI).
- Volatility rose by 6.91% during May, ending 8.61% higher over the past twelve months
Please click on the following link to gain access to this resource. Click here for the Market Report - 31st May 2012 Source: Zenith Investment Partners
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