The Best And Worst Performing Assets In April And YTD

While April started well, buoyed by a smorgasbord of central bank easing around the world (and promises, promises from the rest), it ended on a decidedly ugly note both in the US and abroad. However, Chinese and Russian stocks topped the list YTD while Greece, Corn, and Wheat languish at the bottom...

However, as Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid explains, April proved to be a better month for assets than it felt as we closed the book on it.

It was an especially good month for EM equities and Oil. In particular the Chinese equity markets posted its biggest monthly gain (+18.5%) this year, taking the Shanghai Composite's YTD gains to around 37%. Expectations of further easing/stimulus, hopes of SOE reforms and the rise in margin lending may have all played a part in fuelling the market higher but the China rally also had a spillover effect into HK. The Hang Seng posted its best monthly performance since May 2009 to take its YTD gains to around 20% while the HSCEI index gained 17% in April to mark its best month since October 2011. April was generally positive for EM assets which saw the broad based MSCI EM equities benchmark gain by nearly 8%. Interestingly Greek equities added a healthy 6.5% in April despite the still fluid debt situation in Greece. This one was of the few European assets to end the month on a strong note. On a full year basis, the Shanghai Comp (+37%), Portuguese equities (+28%) and the FTSE MIB (+21%) are some of the best performers. Equity market moves aside, the rally in WTI (+25%) in April also marks as one of its strongest monthly performance since May 2009.

On the opposite of the measuring scale, Wheat (-8.7%) and Corn (-3.3%) were the main laggards while the Dollar (-3.8%) suffered from its first monthly decline since July 2014. The DAX posted its first monthly decline (-4.3%) for the year as the Euro rose 4.6% against the Dollar. The underperformance in German equities aside, the weakness in fixed income was also generally quite notable with Treasuries (-0.6%) and Bunds (-1.4%) declining amongst others. The move impacted Credit total returns but it was notable that European and US HY fared better than their IG counterparts in April. Indeed in Europe, HY performed well in the face of rising yields with a solid monthly total return of 0.5% (single-B non-fins +0.7%), which compared favourably to the returns on shorter dated (1-5yr) German Government bonds (-0.2%).

Looking at performance YTD in $ terms the Shanghai composite remains the top performing asset (up 37.4%) although the Micex isn’t fair behind (up 37.1% in $ terms). Given the EUR weakness YTD European equities lose some of their shine on the USD comparison, slipping down the performance table somewhat although the Portuguese General and FTSE-MIB performance remains in the top 6 of performers. At the other end of the scale the USD strength we’ve seen so far this year dominated the more modest gains we’ve seen in EUR fixed income credit in particular, which along with the Greek equity market, EURUSD and wheat and corn fills out the bottom of the YTD $ performance table.

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As reid concludes, "Bring on the month of May."

Comments

[One And Only]

And sunnier days were warmer than cloudy days.

[LawsofPhysics]

The irony being that you consume a fair amount of oil growing all that wheat...

[davidalan1]

shanghai, Portugal, Nikkei?  oh yeah thats about right...lmao

[Kirk2NCC1701]

My EM Equity investment is doing just fine.  Low key stuff, discreet.

Thanks to the guys that Simon Black introduced me some time ago at one of his events.  Seriously, I shit you not.  I like to rib him a bit at times on ZH (for his hoity-toity pretentiousness ["I went here and there, and had some pricey vintage wine with..."]), but he's done right by me in the things that matter.

I swear to God (to 'Q') that the only effective way to counter/mitigate risk from Scammers, HFT Spoofers and Central Planners, is to DIVERSIFY Assets.  Both in terms of Class¹ & Type², and Geography³ (sovereign jurisdiction).  Because these slime-buggers can not manipulate or control everything on the planet.  Not yet, anyway.

   1. Primary, Secondary, Tertiary assets/wealth

   2. Short, Med, Long term.  Value stocks, Corp bonds, Private Equity

   3. US, Canada, EU (Blue Chip), EM (Latin, Asia, Russia)

[i_call_you_my_base]

Just your run-of-the-mill 40% market moves.

[Soul Glow]

Gold has been steady as she goes for a while meow.  The last year I'd say.  I know it's down but still, with all the blatant manipulation coming from the banks and with no regulation (see GLD vault - thx Bob Pisani) I mean, cheers to having gold above $350!

[Kirk2NCC1701]

Not sure whom I hate more:  The HFT Scum who keep whacking it (so they profit, as does the Fed, India and China), or the Goldbug shills who will talk it up at ANY price (like a slime-bag Realtor who tells you "It's always a good time to buy"), beacuse of the commissions & fees they make on phyz trades, and on their Pump & Dump trading schemes.

Only the collusion or 'Astrological alignment' of both will lead to Libertarian people jumping onto the Goldwagon too eagerly, and buy unwisely (too much, at the wrong price).  A Pox upon your houses!