Polarising politics leads to market uncertainty (The Aust 30/10/18)

Having just returned from visits to wealth and fund managers in Boston and New York, my first trip to the US in 18 months, I was struck by the intensely divided nature of the country.  This can be put down to the polarising politics around President Donald Trump.

Despite GDP growth at the end of the second quarter exceeding expectations at 4.2% and company earnings clearly very strong and exceeding expectations, fund managers are surprisingly cautious.

Australia’s markets are greatly driven by US markets. Because of unknowns around uncertainties we expect short-term volatility to continue for the remainder of October both here and in the US. Yet by mid-November a clear path ahead will be evident into 2019.