WM Market Update – September 2014
Global:
September was a month of consolidation and some profit taking as world markets caught their breath after a period of considerable gains. The divergence in global economies became more apparent as the U.S. dollar continued its strong rise on the back of strong economic growth while the Euro continued its decline as a result of additional sanctions being imposed on Russia over the situation in the Ukraine.
Global:
On the back of falling global commodity prices, an ever strengthening U.S. dollar and concerns over an oversupply of coal and iron ore, the FTSE/JSE ALSI retreated from its previous highs to close at 49,336 points following its all-time high of 52,323 on the 29th July. In total return terms the index lost 2.58% over the month. Pharmaceuticals were the best performers up 8.65% followed by beverages up 7.31%. The worst performers were Gold Mining down 17.46%, Industrial Metals down 13.55% and Platinum down 13.45%. Iron Ore has fallen 45% in the past 10 months. S.A.’s PMI rose to 50.7 in September from 49.0 in August signalling positive growth. On a month by month basis Consumer Price Inflation slowed to 0.4% in August from 0.8% in July. Producer Price Inflation came in at a better than expected 7.2% in August against 8.0% in July.
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