Share markets mostly gained during February. The month was dominated by a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down President Trump’s IEEPA‑based tariffs. A furious President Trump stated he would raise a temporary tariff to 15 per cent on US imports from all countries (the maximum level allowed under the law) in response to the ruling. The January U.S. industrial production print came in ahead of expectations, rising 0.7% while the BEA’s GDP prints pointed to a mixed backdrop (Q3 2025 was revised to a 4.4% annualised pace, while the advance estimate for Q4 2025 slowed to 1.4%, reflecting impacts from the US Government shutdown).
Australian inflation remained sticky at 3.8% year over year in January (trimmed mean 3.4%) and the RBA raised the cash rate to 3.85% during the month with market participants expecting further hikes into Q2 2026
The ASX300 advanced 3.9% while A-REITs declined (-3.3%) and small caps fell (-2.6%). Currency-hedged global shares returned 0.9% while unhedged global shares slid (-1.1%), impacted by the AUD’s strong gain against the US dollar, Euro and Japanese Yen. Australian bond yields fell, bolstering gains for the Australian bond index which returned 0.9% for the month.
Allan Grant Senior Portfolio Analyst
Disclaimer
The above is intended as general market commentary only and is not intended as, and does not constitute, advice of any kind. No liability is accepted for any action taken based on the above or for any loss suffered as a result of reliance on the same.
.png)
.png)