US President Donald Trump signed a flurry of (economic and non-economic) Executive Orders following his inauguration, unwinding some actions previously undertaken by President Joe Biden. Los Angeles suffered an outbreak of wildfires that caused widespread property destruction (quite apart from the tragic loss of life). Israel and Hamas began implementation of the first stage of a negotiated ceasefire agreement, with Israel exchanging prisoners for hostages held by Hamas. Australia’s CPI inflation print for the quarter to end-December came in at 0.2% vs expectations of 0.3%, leading economists to increase bets that the RBA will cut rates in February. The European Central Bank cut rates by a further 25bp, taking the official rate to 2.75%.
The ASX300 Accumulation Index returned 4.5% in January and A-REITs gained 4.6%. Currency-hedged international shares returned 3.5% and currency-unhedged investors gained 2.7%, hindered somewhat by the AUD which rose against the US dollar and Euro.
The Australian 10-year government bond yield rose by 0.07% to 4.43% and the US 10-year government bond yield was little-changed at 4.54% at month end.
Disclaimer
The above is intended as general market commentary only and is not intended as, and does not constitute, advice of any kind. No liability is accepted for any action taken based on the above or for any loss suffered as a result of reliance on the same.
