Finance News

Monthly Market Report for March 2017.

Monthly Market Report for March 2017.  Below are the key points for the month:
  • The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 1.50% at the March board meeting. The rate was also left unchanged at the April board meeting.
  • In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate rose 0.01% to 1.78, and the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate fell by -0.02% to 2.72 in March.
  • Spreads on Australian corporate debt continued to fall in March, as indicated by the iTraxx Australian Index declining -0.34 points to 84.25.
  • Australian shares rose over the month, with the All Ordinaries Index and the S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 2.48% and 2.67%, respectively. Domestic listed property underperformed the broader share market, rising 0.63% over the month.
  • Global equity markets were mixed in March, with the STOXX 50 (EUR) gaining 2.94% to be the best performer over the month. Japan was the worst performing market again in March, with a one month loss of -1.48%.
  • Gold, oil and iron ore prices fell by -0.75%, -6.31% and -11.96%, respectively, in March. The overall CRB Spot Commodity Index fell by -0.48% in US Dollar terms.
  • The Australian Dollar fell against most major currencies in March, -0.57% against the US Dollar, -1.36% against the Euro, -0.94% against the British Pound, and -1.01% against the Japanese Yen.
  • The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) fell by -0.75% over the month, ending March at 66.20.
Share market volatility fell both domestically (-1.20%) and in the US (-0.55%).

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