Daily Market Update

The final week of April left investors around the world with a conundrum: to follow markets, or the economic data?

ASX shares opened lower on Friday with the All Ords index down 3% before midday on Friday, following overseas markets downward. 

The third quarter capped the best year-to-date return for the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index since the first nine months of 2002. Although bond prices may continue to advance, we anticipate lower returns may accompany a rise in volatility in coming quarters.

Last week’s wellbeing budget in New Zealand was based on the Livings Standards Framework (LSF), a set of wellbeing measures that include cultural identity, environment, income and consumption, and social connections. But these provide no overall index of the nation’s performance.