For the latest ETF industry news, please refer to our “Asia ETF Roundup (Industry) – August 2019”.
Major Markets Performance
Negative headlines left global stock markets in the red in the month of August. The trade war between the U.S. and China intensified, Hong Kong protests made global news, and new U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson obtained approval from the Queen to suspend the parliament, setting up the U.K. for a potential no-deal Brexit. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 7.4%. In the U.S, the S&P 500 retreated 1.8%. In the U.K. the FTSE 100 dropped 5.0%. Emerging markets’ performance was weak. Many markets recorded losses greater than 5% in August (as measured by their respective MSCI indices in U.S. dollar terms). Brazilian stocks fell sharply, tumbling 9.7%, amid reports of record rates of burning in the Amazon rainforest.
