GTC EB Trendline – December 2017
Global: Trump’s triumph?
In the US two Republican defeats in a Senate contest prompted the House and Senate to speedily enact tax reform legislation, fearing these defeats were signs of things to come in the 2018 mid-term elections. Markets reacted positively to the news with the S&P500 ending the quarter having returned 6.6%.
Equities were also supported by positive macroeco-nomic news particularly the better-than-expected GDP growth number coming in at an annualized 3.0%. Employment data also remained above expectations with 228,000 new jobs being created in November – although this number may have been distorted as a result of the impact of a number of severe hurricanes.
