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INSight #32
How Has The Asian Consumer Evolved Over The Last 5 Years?
Joohee An – Mirae Asset Global Investment

Adrian Frinsdorf is a Director of Wealth Advisery at William Buck, a 30-year old multidisciplinary financial services group. Adrian has attained a Bachelor of Business at the University of South Australia along with a Diploma of Financial Planning at Deakin University. He is a fully accredited adviser with experience across stock broking, asset management and…

Troy is a Partner and Adviser at Koda Capital. Troy is a FASEA-compliant financial adviser holding a Bachelor of Commerce and SMSF Specialist Adviser designation. He became a member of the Inside Network and an inaugural member of the Advisrry Committee; seeking to learn from his peers and share his own wisdom from many years in the industry.

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) closed above 6,000 points for the third straight day, despite falling 0.7% for the session. Technology was the only positive sector with the major miners the biggest detractors, BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 1.7% and 1.0% respectively, amid signs of a rebound in Brazilian exports reported by Vale S.A (BVMF:VALE3).

It was another strong finish for the ASX 200 on Friday, adding 0.4% and finishing the week up 2.6% on the back of rally in both the healthcare and communications sectors. CSL Ltd (ASX:CSL), up 2.7%, and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX:TLS), 4.0%, were the standouts. The market continues to improve despite the worsening COVID-19 case numbers in Victoria and the US which seem likely to result in a second round of shutdown measures.

The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) followed a strong global lead pushing 1.7% higher, with all sectors benefiting. The most stunning performance has come from Afterpay Ltd (ASX:APT) which after hitting another all-time high has become the 19th most valuable company at $18 billion; this despite losing $32 million last year.

Most global markets started the financial year on a positive note, with the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) adding 0.6% despite reports that just 30% of jobs lost during the COVID-19 crisis have been replaced.

Sharemarkets around the world continued to rally overnight, with the S&P 500 up 1.5% marking the strongest quarter since 1998. The Eurostoxx 50 was comparatively weaker adding just 0.06% whilst the Nasdaq rallied another 1.9% as investors ignored the existential threat to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).

Matthew Scholten is the executive chair of Scholten Collins McKissock in Melbourne. He is a Certified Financial Planner and has qualifications from the Australian Insurance Institute (AIA), the SMSF Association and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA). Scholten became a member of the Inside Network in May 2020, seeking to create better outcomes…