The Shifting Tides

Discover the latest trends in our monthly Investment Note for November 2024 from Lighthouse Canton, titled "The Shifting Tides"

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Key highlights in our note are as following :

• US equities wrapped up a strong month, while Asian equities faced a weak performance: US equities - Russel 2000 (+5.4%), NASDAQ (+2.8%), and S&P 500 (+2.0%) gained, however Asian equities were down with all major indices including Kospi, Nikkei, Nifty and Hangseng declining 6-8%, the sole exception being CSI 300 (+4.9%).
• US Non-farm payrolls expand by a marginal number, the unemployment rate remains unchanged:  While the Fed delivered on a 25-bps cut in Nov’24, the path ahead remains uncertain with Fed Fund Futures assigning a probability of only 3-4 additional rate cuts (cumulatively 75-100 bps) starting Dec’24 till the end of CY’25.
• Most central banks declared interest rate cuts: The Bank of Canada cuts rate by 50 bps, followed by the US Fed, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank, each reducing rates by 25 bps. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the rates unchanged.
• Gold prices hit a peak in October, before experiencing a correction in November: Gold is currently trading down around 5.5% for the month of November (as of 12th November), correcting nearly 7% from its October peak of around US$2800/oz.
• India’s CPI crosses RBI’s tolerance levels: India’s headline inflation surged to 6.21% in Oct’24. This marks the second consecutive month of significant CPI increase.
• FPIs continue to sell in India: Weaker-than-expected Q2FY25 earnings for India Inc. along with global pressures triggered a sharp selloff in the equity markets, pushing frontline indices to multi-month lows in recent trading sessions.

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Check our report below to gain key insights about the same

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