September 2024 Insights

Welcome to spring, a season that can inspire personal, business, and financial renewal. We hope you enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather.

Global stock markets—including the ASX—largely stabilised by the end of August after a turbulent month.

It was a rocky start, with global markets plummeting following news of high unemployment figures in the US and an interest rate move by Japan’s central bank. Despite the drama, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.28% higher for the month, marking a gain of just over 10% for the year to date.

A slight drop in inflation, down to 3.5% in July from 3.8% the previous month, had investors watching the Reserve Bank’s reaction. However, most economists agree that there’s little chance of an interest rate cut this year. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is not expecting inflation to reach its preferred levels until late 2026 or early 2027.

While the cost of living has dropped slightly, partly due to $300 federal government rebates on electricity bills, wages have risen. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that wages increased by 4.1% in the year to June, meaning that wages are now keeping pace with the cost of living.

The good news from the market and inflation data contributed to a small upswing in consumer confidence, although there is still much ground to recover after the losses caused by COVID-19.

If there’s something affecting your financial situation that you’d like to discuss, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.