GTC EB Trendline – September 2017
Global: A hurricane-harassed US
News that the US economy had grown at a better than expected 3.1% in the second quarter saw the S&P 500 returning 4.5% over the period. US equities in fact reached all-time highs, aided and abetted by continually improving corporate earnings and further Dollar weakness. The market shrugged off any political uncertainty stemming from the rhetoric between President Trump and his North Korean counterpart, as well as paying scant attention to the failure of the Trump administration to realise its policy goals.
Towards the end of the quarter the impact from the severe hurricanes Harvey and Irma made itself felt as forward-looking economic indicators suggested that the storms would impact negatively on economic growth in the short term. However, investors were of the opinion that this would be transitory which was confirmed by the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) minutes.
