August market update – investors woke from their summer siesta

Global investors were woken up from their summer siesta in August by a tit-for-tat trade escalation between the US and China, which weighed on market sentiment and reignited global growth fears.

In this edition

• Global equity markets were notably weak over the month, as trade talks soured between the world’s two economic superpowers and the latest economic data in China and Germany added to investor fears
• The risk-off environment also saw commodity prices weaken on expectations of lower demand and emerging market equities underperform
• It was the more defensive parts of the market that outperformed, with gold and precious metal prices continuing to rise, while the demand for government bonds saw their yields fall sharply and the US yield curve invert

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