Global equities rallied last week following Janet Yellen’s comments suggesting that the pace of rate normalisation will be more gradual than some had anticipated.
- The S&P/ASX 200 added 1.1%, the S&P 500 rose 1.4%, the EURO STOXX 50 gained 1.8%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index jumped 4.5%. iShares MSCI BRIC ETF (IBK) was the top performing unleveraged equity ETF for the week, returning 2.3% in Australian dollar terms.
- The Australian dollar gained over 3% on general US dollar weakness and higher commodity prices. The euro gained 0.6% and the pound added 1.6% against the US dollar. The Japanese yen also strengthened by 1.2%.
- Commodities rebounded with WTI crude oil up 5.2% and iron ore up 4.7%. Lower rate expectations also provided positive news for precious metals with gold rising by 1.2% for the week, its best weekly performance in two months.
- The Australian ETF market saw inflows of A$84m and outflows of A$67m from domestically domiciled ETFs last week.
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