Global Markets Update April 2009

Thursday, April 9th, 2009 | Market Updates

Global equity markets staged a recovery during March. Share prices rallied from the middle of the month following the news that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) intends to buy back over US$1 trillion-worth of debt, fuelling hopes of an earlier-than-expected end to the global recession. Concerns about deflation rapidly evolved into worries about the possible return of inflation, leading to renewed interest in gold and other commodities as a means of protection against inflationary pressures.

Central banks are trying increasingly radical methods of stimulating their economies. The Bank of England announced a programme of quantitative easing intended to encourage commercial banks to revive lending activity. The measures involve the purchase of £75 billion-worth of commercial banks’ assets, which will be financed with newly created money. Meanwhile, the Fed announced plans to inject almost US$1.2 trillion of newly created money into the US economy in order to help kick-start bank lending, revive the housing market and lead to economic recovery. Nevertheless, export growth is still on the wane in the UK, US, China and Germany, reflecting the decline in worldwide demand, and the World Bank expects the global economy to decline for the first time since the Second World War during 2009.

After reaching a 12-year low during early March, share prices in the US rose in the latter part of the month, led higher by the financial sector. This rally followed the announcement of further measures to alleviate the effects of toxic assets upon American banks, and news of better-than-expected new home sales.

Equities advanced in the UK during March; however, their rise was relatively muted, dampened by a raft of disappointing corporate profits announcements and yet more negative economic news. Share prices in Europe posted relatively strong gains overall, although underlying country performance was mixed, reflecting the fortunes of individual companies and a welter of overwhelmingly negative economic data.

Most Asian markets posted strong gains during March, buoyed by hopes that the world might emerge from recession sooner than expected. In particular, financial stocks rallied on the news of the Fed’s quantitative easing measures. Japan announced further measures intended to stimulate flagging economic growth, although Japan’s substantial public debt is likely to hamper its scope to boost its economy. Meanwhile, Japanese exporters were heartened by a weakening in the yen ahead of the fiscal year end, amid mounting hopes that the global financial crisis might be on the wane.

Tags: Financial News, Interest Rates, Investments, stock markets

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