For the latest ETF industry news, please refer to our “Asia ETF Roundup (Industry) – April 2019”.
Major Markets Performance
Major markets maintained positive momentum in April, responding favourably to the delay of Brexit and positive progress on the trade talks between the U.S. and China. The S&P 500 notched a new all-time-high during the month. The S&P 500 and FTSE 100 rose 3.9% and 1.9%, respectively. Singapore’s Straits Times Index and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were some of the strongest performing markets, rising 5.8% and 5.0%, respectively, in April. But this was all before the markets turned the opposite direction in early May after new threats from the U.S. to impose another round of tariffs on China. Emerging markets’ performance was mixed. Stocks in Russia gained 3.8% in April, while stocks in Pakistan dropped by 4.4% (as measured by their respective MSCI indices in U.S. dollar terms).
