Mutual Trust's Market Review June 2024

As Financial Year 2024 (FY24) drew to a close, many of the concerns from the start of the year, such as uncertainty around inflation, interest rates, geopolitical tensions and global elections, remained unresolved.  However, global equity markets continued to move higher, with the MSCI World (ex-Australia) Index rising by 19.9% over FY24 (+14.4% YTD).  Globally, U.S. and Japanese markets delivered strong performance, while Europe and emerging markets lagged.

U.S. equities, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, reached 31 new all-time highs in the first half of 2024, with a total return of 14.4% – this was partially driven by continued enthusiasm around Artificial Intelligence (AI).  The index rose 3.5% in June and closed FY24 in bull market territory, up 22.7%.  The NASDAQ Index outperformed, up 6.0% in June and 28.6% over FY24.

The Australian equity market, as measured by the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index, rose 0.9% in June.  Australian bonds ended the month slightly higher, with the Bloomberg AusBond Composite Index (AUD) rising 0.8% in June.

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