In the December 2016 edition of the Market Update:
- In November equity markets were boosted by Donald Trump’s election victory as investors bet that his policies will be better for business and likely to lead to stronger US economic growth.
- Oil prices rose 5.5% to US$49.41 per barrel (WTI) after OPEC and some non-OPEC countries agreed to cut production.
- Chinese purchasing manager indices for both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors rose to the highest levels since mid-2014.
- The US economy continues to perform well with the unemployment rate falling to new post financial crisis lows.
- Investor attention in the Eurozone was focussed on the Austrian presidential election and the Italian constitutional referendum.
- Australia’s economy contracted in the third quarter largely due to wet weather but there are some other indicators that suggest that growth may be slowing.
There’s more commentary, plus our usual tables with all the key market data on Shares, Interest Rates and Property in the linked document below.