Global equity markets as a whole recovered from the previous week, with the MSCI AC World Index recording a 0.31 per cent gain over the week ended August 4, 2017.
Amongst the developed market, the European equity market edged out both Japan and the US, notching a 1.15 per cent rise from the previous week.
S&P 500 index rose a tepid 0.12 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index incurred losses of 0.08 per cent.
Emerging markets and Asia ex-Japan also kept in step with the Europe and US markets, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index advancing 0.33 per cent and 0.56 per cent respectively.
In the emerging market space, Brazil was the star over the week, with the Benchmark Bovespa Index surging 2.86 per cent.
Hong Kong came in subsequently, with the Hang Seng Index climbing 1.97 per cent over the week.
The Chinese H-share market (represented by the HSML100 Index) rose 1.31 per cent, outmatching its onshore counterparts, while Taiwan’s equity market rose 1.03 per cent over the week.
Performance of Southeast Asian markets under our radar like Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand were relatively more muted across the week, while our home country, Malaysia outperformed its peers across Asean region, clocking a 0.42 per cent over the week.
South Korea: Exports recorded double digit year-on-year growth for the sixth consecutive month
South Korea’s exports increased by 19.5 per cent year-on-year in the month of July, down from a prior downward-revised 13.6 per cent year-on-year increase and beating the consensus forecast of a 15.9 per cent year-on-year increase.
July’s exports number is also the sixth consecutive month of double digit year-on-year increases.
Exports growth were mainly contributed by the demand for semiconductors, ship construction, iron & steel and petrochemical products; exports to China and the US rose 6.6 per cent and seven per cent respectively, while exports to India grew by a significant 79.2 per cent year-on-year.
The outlook for South Korea’s exports is expected to remain positive, given the continued recovery in global economy, as well as the upturn in the global semiconductor industry.
Brazil: Industrial production expanded for the second consecutive month
In South America, Brazil’s industrial production rose 0.5 per cent year-on-year in June, easing from the prior month’s 4.1 per cent but surpassing expectations for a 0.1 per cent decline.
Industrial production has expanded for the second consecutive month and is the highest since late 2013, with the exception of the high growth seen in May 2017.
This suggests continued progression in the economy in its road to recovery.
In terms of the types of goods, the production of durable goods continued to lead growth, with a five per cent year-on-year increase in output.
Meanwhile, the production of semi-durable goods lagged overall production growth as it contracted -1.8 per cent year-on-year in June.
According to the latest central bank survey of 100 economists, Brazil’s GDP and its industrial production are expected to grow 0.34 per cent and 0.83 per cent respectively in 2017.
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