March 2008
March saw negative performance for our growth assets, with negative returns from Australian shares, International shares (hedged to $A), and Australian listed property. Financial asset (Australian and international fixed interest) performance was positive for the month.
Australian shares
The Australian stock market declined 3.4% in March, further to a decline of 0.7% in February (S&P/ASX300 Accumulation Index). Industrial stocks outperformed resource stocks over the month, returning -0.8% and-9.0% respectively.
International shares
Overall, international stock markets gained 1.6% in March, following a decline of 5.3% in February (MSCI World Ex Australia in $A (unhedged)).
The US stock market declined 0.6% in March, further to a decline of 3.5% in February (S&P500). Technology stocks were slightly positive, returning 0.3% for the month (NASDAQ).
The UK stock market returned -3.1% for the month, following a gain of 0.1% in February (FTSE).
The Japanese stock market (Nikkei) returned -7.9%, following a gain of 0.1% the previous month.
Emerging markets declined 2.9% in Australian dollar terms, following a gain of 2.5% in February (MSCI Emerging Markets Free ($A) Accumulation Index).
Property
Australian listed property gained 0.4% (S&P/ASX200 Property Trust Accumulation Index), following a decline of 4.9% the previous month.
Fixed interest
The Australian bond market (UBS Warburg Australia Composite Bond Index) returned 1.6% in March. The international bond markets (Lehman Bros Global Aggregate Index (hedged to $A)) returned 0.3% for the month.
Cash
The Australian short-term money market returned 0.7% (UBS Warburg Australia Bank Bill Index).