Australian sharemarket recovers from (red) October

The S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation index rose 4.4% in November, offsetting the 4.0% fall in October. Positive economic statistics and valuations propelled the sharemarket. The best performing sectors were Energy, Materials and Healthcare.

In response to inflationary concerns the European Central Bank ("ECB") announced plans to start raising interest rates. It is unlikely that the ECB will be too aggressive as countries like France and Germany are only achieving moderate growth whilst Italy is still emerging from a recession.

Japan keeps on powering ahead

The Japanese share market returned a spectacular 9.3% for the month after being the only major market in October to deliver a positive return. The Bank of Japan ("BoJ") said that it would not raise interest rates until consumer price inflation was above 1%, which it does not forecast in the next two years.

Global Emerging Markets delivered strong returns

The MSCI Emerging Markets ($A dividends reinvested) returned 9.3% for the month of November outperforming the broader share market. For the year to date Global Emerging markets have returned 39%. Turkey was the best performing market (+19.8%) as the government reduced the corporate tax rate by one-third and the country was granted ‘market-economy status’ by the European Union.