Key takeaways:
- President-elect Trump winning the US presidential election puts tariffs and trade wars back in the spotlight.
- US Q3 corporate earnings season was solid with more companies having upside surprises to earnings than disappointments.
- Economic data continues to point to a soft landing for the global economy, with growth slowing but not entering a recession.
- Global central banks are likely to continue cutting interest rates gradually, except in Japan where rates are expected to rise as it emerges from a period of deflation.
- We favour global listed property where fundamentals are broadly healthy, and valuations are attractive. Also, we favour Japan equities due to the economic growth rebound and solid earnings growth.
- We expect growth to remain subdued in Australia and favour Australian government bonds as cash rates are likely to have peaked this cycle.
