Global stocks have done worse than US equities

Clint Sorenson, CFA, CMT WealthShield

"Markets will fluctuate."
- John Pierpont Morgan

This is the last time we will write to you in 2018. The year was interesting, to say the least. We had trade wars, bear markets, bull markets, a Fed tightening, and loads of entertainment out of Washington. From an asset market perspective, cash was king as most asset classes demonstrated weak returns for the year. Stocks started off the year great, climbing in January before correcting more than -10%, and bottoming in the early spring. US stocks then rallied into their September peak, leaving global stocks in the dust as they failed to recover. Since the end of September, stocks have been hit hard. The Wilshire total market index is down over -15% for the quarter and almost - 8% for the year.

Global stocks have done worse than US equities. The MSCI All Country World Ex US index is down over -15% for the year. Bitcoin has been the mother of all bear markets, declining more than 70% this year.

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Author

Clint Sorenson, CFA, CMT

WealthShield

EUR/USD remains bid, focus stays on 1.1900

EUR/USD has broken its two-day run of losses and is ticking modestly higher on Thursday, hovering around the 1.1880 area as the US Dollar struggles to find clear direction. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rose more than expected, taking a bit of shine off the Greenback, but markets are largely in wait-and-see mode ahead of Friday’s US CPI release.

GBP/USD sticks to the bid bias, still below 1.3700

GBP/USD is trading with decent gains around 1.3650 on Thursday. Indeed, Cable is attempting to shake off the weakness seen earlier in the week amid another choppy session for the Greenback, while a run of disappointing UK data has so far failed to derail the pair’s tentative recovery.

Gold recedes slightly, trades below $5,100

Gold remains stuck in choppy trade on Thursday, deflating marginally just below the $5,100 mark per troy ounce as the US Dollar drifts without a clear trend. Softer US Treasury yields across the curve are offering some support, but with markets treading carefully ahead of Friday’s US CPI release, conviction remains limited and price action continues to look hesitant.