GLOBAL MARKETS ON BULL RUN

ADDS $1.5 TRILLION WEALTH POST US CRISIS

The world markets shrugged off the US default fears arising out of the more-than-two-weeks of government shutdown in October with handsome gains of USD 1.5 trillion in market wealth, or a 3.8 per cent rally, with 44 of the 46 markets covered ending the month in the green. "For October, the markets padded up their September gains of 5.27 per cent, with a broad 3.78 per cent gain overall. While the developed markets added 3.68 per cent, emerging ones added 4.69 per cent, with 44 of the 46 markets gaining for the month," senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices Howard Silverblatt said in a report. The year-to-date gains for developed markets are an impressive 20.19 per cent, with the ex-US gain being 15.99 per cent. The US is up 24.29 per cent year-to-date. On the overall wealth creation, the report said the market has added USD 1.5 trillion to the shareholders' wealth in October taking the overall wealth increase to USD 6.7 trillion year-to-date. While with an 11.07 per cent rally, after a bloodbath of 17 per cent in the previous two months, the Sensex topped the emerging markets indices, while the Nikkei of Japan is the sole loser in amongst the developed market indices with a minor 0.04 per cent fall for the month, and Columbia being the sole emerging market decliner, losing 0.24 per cent, Silverblatt said. He, however, added that India still is 7.33 per cent in the red year-to-date. However, the report notes that uncertainty continues to remain high globally, but investors appear to want to be in the market. 
While the October rally helped the emerging markets reduce their year-to-date decline to 1.19 per cent, as half the markets remain in the red year-to-date, the developed markets did well in the month adding 3.68 per cent, with the ex-US indices adding 3.19 per cent. The US posted a 4.13 per cent gain in the month post the debt ceiling resolution. The other emerging market winners include the tension-ridden Egypt adding 9.50 per cent for the month, breaking into a 3.48 per cent gain year-to, while the developed markets chart is topped by Greece padding up a whopping 15.43 per cent. In fact, Greece leads all the covered 46 markets year-to-date with a staggering 40.72 per cent gain, which although from a three-year return perspective is still deeply in the red, off 35.87 per cent compared to the 27.09 per cent global return. Italy is the other double-digit winner, adding 11.74 per cent, Spain gained 9 per cent. Singapore did relatively poor, adding 0.53 per cent for the month, the report said. The report said, while the quantifiable short-term impact of the shutdown is pegged at USD 24 billion and a 0.6 per cent reduction in the Q4 GDP, the longer-term cost is likely to be measured in increased uncertainty in investment by companies and higher concern by consumers.