Page 6 - Hogan Stephen_Review Report_August 2020
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June Quarter International equities
in Review All major developed and emerging
markets finished the quarter strongly in
local currency terms (double digits), but
the sharp rise in the Aussie dollar brought
Below is a summary and highlights from those returns back to more reasonable
the movements this quarter and major levels. In the US, markets shrugged off
changes to some of the key asset areas: sharp increases in reported COVID-19
cases and civil unrest; the S&P 500
Australian equities returning (+7%). Emerging Markets (+5%)
Although still well short of February highs, performed strongly as virus fears
the Australian equity market continues to subsided, whilst Europe (+3.3%) and Asia-
fight back, finishing the June quarter up Pacific (+3.8%) also performed well.
down 16.5%. Performance was spread Sector performance mirrored the domestic
across all sectors but those impacted markets as information technology led the
more severely (cyclicals) in the March way, particularly in the US.
quarter (consumer discretionary +30%, Property & Infrastructure
energy +28%) led the charge. Information
technology was the biggest mover +49% The Australian listed property sector
with strong momentum exacerbated by (+19.9%) came back strongly in the June
lockdown measures. Cyclical sectors still quarter. Global listed property (+8.7%)
lag the defensive sectors quite and global listed infrastructure (+8.3%)
considerably year-to-date. performed strongly on a currency hedged
basis, but the strong rise in the Aussie
The more volatile small cap sector dollar saw unhedged returns fall into
(+23.9%) outperformed broader large negative territory. Both sectors are well
companies during the quarter and are now down year-to-date and remain challenging
outperforming the sector year-to-date. sectors going forward if lockdowns persist.
