For the latest ETF industry news, please refer to our “Asia ETF Roundup (Industry) – April 2022”.
Major Markets Performance
Global markets had a tough April. The U.S. saw inflation hit a 40-year high in March and the Morningstar US Market Index plunged 9.0%. In Asia, the Bank of Japan continued to purchase 10-year government bonds at a yield of 0.25%. The Morningstar Japan index dropped 8.6% (which reflects a 6.3% depreciation in the Japanese Yen).
There were also big moves in currency markets in April. The U.S. dollar appreciated 4.7%, as proxied by the ICE USD Spot rate. Conversely, the Euro depreciated 5.2% against the U.S. dollar. The Japanese Yen depreciated against the greenback by 6.3% in April, following a 5.1% decline in March. This put the Yen’s year-to-date depreciation at 11.1%. The Chinese Yuan took a sharp turn in April, as it depreciated 3.7% against the U.S. dollar.
Precious metals’ performance was poor in April. Gold, platinum and silver prices fell anywhere from 2% to 5%..PNG)
Economic and Market News
South Korea Hikes Rates by 0.25%; BOJ Continues Unlimited Bond Purchases
- South Korea Raises Rates by 25 bps – On 14 April, the Bank of Korea hiked rates by 25bps to 1.50%. The Bank last raised interest rate in January 2022.
- Bank of Japan’s Unlimited Bond Purchases –In April, the Bank of Japan offered to purchase an unlimited amount of 10-year government bonds at 0.25% for 6 days (21, 22, 25, 26, 27 and 28 April) in effort to control its yield curve.
China Economic Data: Inflation at 1.5% in March; Caixin/Markit PMI and Official PMI Fell Further in April
- Inflation registered at 1.5% in March, higher than the 0.9% reading in February.
- China’s Caixin/Markit PMI fell further to 46.0 in April, from the reading of 48.1 in March. The official PMI also fell in April to 47.4 from 49.5 in March.
