GTC Trendline – Second Quarter 2020
Outlook: Following the catastrophic downturn of global equity markets in the latter part of March, the rebound and resilience of the markets during the past three months has been little short of remarkable.
Odds were stacked against equity market performance resulting from the devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was the speed with which Governments and the Central Banks of the world reacted to the crisis that provided the necessary monetary stimulus and fiscal support.
Whilst the performance of global equity markets over the quarter has been significant ,it is as well to bear in mind that stocks are for the most part trading at levels below those that prevailed prior to the onset of the pandemic. This is clearly illustrated with the MSCI World Equity Index having returned 18.84% for Q2 but returning a negative -6.64% for the year. Similarly, the MSCI Emerging Market Index returned 17.27% for Q2 but returned a negative -10.73% for the year.
