Market review

August in review

The increased likelihood of US interest-rate cuts drove positive performance in key financial markets as trade-tariff concerns took a back seat. Global equities advanced, but threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence – coupled with concerns over fiscal outlooks for France, Japan, and the UK – weighed on long-term debt markets, with investors reassessing the riskiness of ‘safe haven’ assets. Gold was one safe-haven asset that did not disappoint, with the price of the precious metal nearing an all-time high on mounting inflation concerns.

5 Sept 2025

10 minutes

Chapters

01
Global stocks
02
US
03
South Africa
04
China
05
Emerging markets
06
Europe and UK
07
Global fixed income
08
EM fixed income
09
Global credit
10
Commodities
01

Global stocks

Shipping containers
Global equities advance on rate-cut hopes

Global equities had a decent August, with a tug-of-war between risk-on and risk-off sentiment settling the way of the former as investors navigated several noteworthy narratives. The month began in the red, with a weak US jobs report – which included the biggest set of monthly downward revisions since May 2020 – sparking fears of a slowdown. However, this proved to be a temporary blip as July’s inflation report showed little impact from President Trump’s tariffs and – crucially – Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled that interest rate cuts are on the horizon. In addition, company earnings season was broadly positive, with a number of the big tech names beating estimates.

Turning to politics, there was hope of some positive developments in Ukraine, underpinned by a meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska, but no deal was agreed. French assets came under pressure towards the end of the month after Prime Minister Bayrou called a confidence vote, while weak macro data out of Germany dampened sentiment towards its market. Over in China, it was a different story, with optimism around US-China trade talks and media reports suggesting Beijing could relax its approach to digital assets, lifting its equity market.

Indices (total return in local currency)
S&P 500 2.0%
Nasdaq Composite 1.6%
MSCI ACWI 2.5%
Nikkei 225 4.1%
EuroStoxx 600 0.7%
FTSE 100 1.2%
Hang Seng Index 1.3%
SSE Composite 8.0%

Source: Bloomberg as at 29 August 2025.

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