Last week in markets, we saw tech gains and conflicting economic signals leading to volatile conditions. We dive into what that means for interest rates, inflation and potential economic growth.

In brief:
Robust Tech Sector Performance: Led by giants like Nvidia and Apple, the technology sector has driven significant gains in the U.S. markets, with the Nasdaq hitting new highs and Nvidia’s market value soaring past $3 trillion

Mixed Economic Indicators: While the U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs last month, indicating strength, other indicators paint a more complex picture. The manufacturing index dropped to 47.2, indicating contraction, and job openings decreased to a three-year low of 8.1 million, highlighting potential challenges in the labour market.

Central Bank Movements: Upcoming central bank meetings and CPI reports in the U.S. and Australia will be critical in shaping future monetary policies amidst persistent inflation. Both the Fed & RBA are expected to maintain current interest rate levels. 

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Key highlights:
Mixed Australian Market Performance: The S&P/ASX 200 index saw a modest rebound after earlier losses, closing the week down by just 0.3%. This minor downturn is attributed to growing inflation concerns, dampening expectations for near-term interest rate cuts by the RBA.

Australian Sector Performance: Specific sectors experienced varied impacts to the growing inflation concerns: industrials declined by 1.5%, consumer discretionary by 1.2%, and financials by 0.9%. In contrast, the healthcare sector showed strength, with Telix Pharmaceuticals and Pro Medicus gaining 3.2% and 2.8%, respectively, supported by strong quarterly results.

Global and US Market Dynamics: Globally, markets saw modest declines, with the MSCI World ex-Australia Index falling 0.5% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropping 3.6%. In the US, Nvidia continued to drive Nasdaq's volatility, playing a significant role amid broader industry concerns highlighted by Salesforce’s disappointing performance. 

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Global financial markets experienced mixed performance last week, with equities posting gains in developed markets while emerging markets and defensive sectors lagged. The ongoing tug-of-war between resilient economic data and persistent inflation concerns continued to drive sentiment.

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Key Highlights:

Market Performance: After a slow start, the S&P/ASX 200 index climbed by 0.84%, closing at 7,814. This rise was buoyed by slowing wage growth in Australia and easing US inflation, which have heightened expectations of potential rate cuts.

The 'Cost of Living' Budget: The federal budget introduced 'cost of living' measures, which, while aimed at boosting consumer spending, could potentially add to inflation pressures. These policies present a complex scenario for the RBA’s future monetary decisions.

Sector and Corporate Highlights: Significant gains were observed in the REITs (+3.9%) and tech (+3.1%) sectors. Aristocrat Leisure notably surged 12% following strong earnings reports, contrasting sharply with the underperforming energy sector.

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Global markets continued their positive momentum last week, largely reversing the pullback experienced in April.


Key Highlights:

• Market Performance: Europe emerged as the best performer, with the UK showing strong gains. Japan was a bit soft, while Australia saw the ASX 300 gain 1.8%. The US extended its rally, driven by strong earnings reports.
• Sector Performance: The real estate sector was a standout, with Australian A-REITs up 2.3% for the week. Global REITs returned 1.4%, and global infrastructure gained an impressive 2.1%.
• Bond Markets: Australian 10-year yields fell initially but have since risen, while US 10-year Treasury yields settled at 4.448%.

Get access to the charts: www.investsense.com.au/industry-articles/positive-momentum-continues-amid-mixed-signals 


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