Kapiti Financial Advice Limited – KiwiSaver and Investment
Global sharemarkets moved higher through May on resilient corporate earnings and the prospect of an end to the conflict in the Middle East. A strong US first-quarter earnings season saw global sharemarkets remain more resilient than the economic headlines alone might suggest, led by technology companies. Results from Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and NVIDIA reinforced … Read more
The escalation of tensions in the Middle East is a continuation of geopolitical events since the beginning of the year. Nevertheless, global share markets rose during February. Emerging markets, Europe and Japan were once again among the better performing regions. The US sharemarket was weighed down by uncertainty surrounding the larger technology companies as concerns … Read more
October was characterised by US-China trade tensions and increasing concerns over the sustainability of the AI investment boom. Nevertheless, global equity markets demonstrated resilience, buoyed by strong corporate earnings, central bank’s interest rate cuts, and the prospect of increased government spending in Japan and Europe. New Zealand’s sharemarket rose 1.9% in October, boosted by lower … Read more
Global sharemarkets rose 2.2% in July. US markets led the way on favourable corporate earnings updates, particularly better than expected profit updates from the technology giants Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta. Microsoft’s value rose to over US$4 trillion following its profit update. Apple reported strong revenue growth, helped by consumers rushing to buy iPhones ahead … Read more
Global financial markets experienced a very unpleasant start to April as US President Donald Trump unveiled larger than expected “reciprocal” tariffs on countries around the world. As the month went on things got better. Global markets stabilised and recovered after Trump called for a 90-day pause for the reciprocal tariffs. In the final wash, Global sharemarkets … Read more
Melville Jessup Weaver have released their MJW Investment Survey March 2025. The survey discusses the impact of the US trade policy which caused understandable nervousness in the first quarter. Market volatility began to rise around the end of February and peaked for the quarter in early March. Subsequent events in early April, following President Trump’s … Read more
Uncertainty regarding US trade and tariff policy is likely to continue for some time, which will be unsettling for markets. Expect a period of back-and-forth negotiations which may bring further positive surprises for markets. Other developments may also bring relief for global equity markets, including: Central banks continuing to reduce interest rates, particularly in Europe, … Read more
Better than expected US inflation data, the ongoing resilience of the US economy and solid corporate earnings results provided support for the US market in January. This was despite uncertainty regarding the impact of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek and President Trump’s plans to apply tariffs on imports. Providing support for the outlook, the Fed has … Read more
November was another strong month for sharemarkets which set aside geopolitical events (the ongoing war in Ukraine and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East) in favour of a settled election outcome in the US and the prospect that inflation is easing. The US sharemarket has focused on Trump’s business friendly policies of lower … Read more
The Global equity market had a strong month in November. US markets were bolstered by the election result and the prospect of tax cuts and deregulation. Central banks globally continued to lower rates. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand continued their interest-rate cutting cycle, reducing the Official Cash Rate from 4.75% to 4.25%. The NZ … Read more