Weekly Trading Update

Markets spooked by Bernanke’s comments



Despite maintaining unprecedented monthly bond purchases at $85 billion, markets seem to have been spooked by Bernanke’s comments that the U.S economy is still going from strength to strength regardless of the partial government shutdown. Strong evidence for this is the fact that the MSCI Asia Pacific index slid 0.3 percent despite manufacturing picking up across the region. From China to South Korea, official PMI’s rose more than estimated to an 18-month high, suggesting that we are about to enter a stage of consolidation.

 

U.S. data yesterday showed the biggest jump in a gauge of business activity in more than three decades and a drop in jobless claims, highlighting the strength in the U.S economy. Additionally, a report today is projected to show American factory output expanded. In a similar fashion to the Asian markets, U.S headline indices are being weighed down by Fed tapering concerns. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4 percent yesterday, breaking a run that has seen the index climb 4.46 percent this month.

 

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s October advance pushed its price-earnings ratio to 13.7 times estimated earnings from 12.7 at the end of August, compared with 15.9 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Some 51 percent of the 300 companies in the Asia-Pacific measure that reported results this quarter and for which estimates are available have missed analyst estimates for profit.

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