Aussie shares head south
Australian shares took a dive in the first month of the new financial year, coming off the back of being one of the top performing asset classes of last financial year.
Australian shares lost a staggering 4.7 per cent over the month, behind even international shares which lost 1.2 per cent. The only good news was investors in direct property and listed property trusts which both returned 0.8 per cent for the month.
Ausbil Dexia chief investment officer Michael Wilson says the miserable performance for equity markets around the world over the past two months has been caused by a deterioration in company profits for the past financial year.
However, Wilson says he expects double digit growth for company profits over the current financial year which bodes well for equity markets.
“This should translate into firmer share markets as investors feel more confident about a recovery,” he says.
The Nasdaq once again led the list of poor performing markets for the month. It lost 6.2 per cent, while Germany lost 3.2 per cent and France fell 2.7 per cent.
Asian markets followed the Nasdaq trend south. Taiwan and Japan both lost 8.5 per cent, Korea was down 9 per cent while Hong Kong fell 5.6 per cent.
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