The MSCI global equity index climbed for the fifth consecutive month in March, although the upturn was smaller than that of February. Equities are increasingly pricing in a positive scenario in which the US economy in particular remains largely unaffected by the Fed’s interest rate hikes. Equities from industrialised nations outperformed their emerging market counterparts, and within industrialised nations Europe noted a sharper upturn than the US. The equity rally was more widespread. Value equities performed better than growth equities and small caps better than large caps. Market interest rates declined by slightly more in Europe than in the US and marginally more at the long end than the short end of the yield curve. Yet even so the movements were small. Despite already tight spreads on credits, these contracted slightly more in March.
Please see Van Lanschot Kempen’s Asset Allocation Outlook for April. The highlights this month are:
- ‹No landing› scenario for the US over-optimistic in our view
- Should the Fed cut interest rates?
- Profit-taking on Japanese equity overweight