Market Update from the Global Asset Allocation team – July 2020
In June, the unrelenting appetite for risk prevailed and global stock markets continued to grind higher amid optimism for a successful reopening of major economies that are awash with central bank and government support. However, it was a turbulent month, with equity markets swinging between gains and losses as investors weighed some conflicting forces at hand. While indeed welcoming ongoing signs that the worst of the economic fallout from the pandemic is behind us and the unrelenting pledges for policy support, enthusiasm was tempered somewhat on reports of rising COVID cases across the US that prompted some states to dial back their reopening plans.
The remarkable comeback from the March lows gave way to some choppy financial conditions in June. Still, global equity markets edged higher during the month. The S&P 500 was stuck in a 250-point range and advanced by a relatively muted 1.8% in June. Looking abroad, European stocks outpaced their US peers for the first month since September as major European economies successfully contained the virus and fired up their engines ahead of the US – while plans to reopen in America have been halted in response to the latest spike in cases. Emerging markets led the global charge as unprecedented central bank stimulus overshadowed the threat of rising infections across some developing nations, with India and Brazil among the newest global hotspots for the coronavirus.
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