December market update – markets ended 2018 in negative territory

Markets ended 2018 in negative territory with global growth fears and geopolitical uncertainty weighing on investor sentiment. Global equities were the notable underperformers in December, highlighting the risk-off environment, with Santa failing to deliver a much needed seasonal rally for investors to end what was a volatile year overall.

What happened in the markets?

• Unsurprisingly in local currency and total return terms, it was the more defensive parts of the market that outperformed, such as government bonds and gold
• US and Japanese equities were amongst the worst performing asset classes against a stronger yen and a more challenging outlook for growth and trade
• Brexit uncertainty continued to dominate investor sentiment in the UK and the headlines ahead of March’s deadline, while signals of slowing growth in the Eurozone and a range of political issues across the continent weighed on European equity markets

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