- With fears over Greece receding, Europe’s markets discovered a new source for concern. Extreme volatility has been rocking China’s market for months; in August, the rest of the world started to believe what the collapse in valuations there may mean for China’s role as the world’s engine of economic growth.
- The S&P Europe 350® had its worst month since August 2011, recording a loss in total return of 8.6%. Altogether, over 800 billion euros disappeared from the market capitalization of the companies composing our flagship for the region.
- Every S&P Europe 350 sector index fell materially and in a tight range, with less than 4% separating the best (Industrials) from the worst (Materials).
- In such circumstances, the outperformance from defensive strategies such as Low Volatility and Risk Control is not surprising.
- The biggest riser on this month’s report was volatility. Precious metals also gained; every other index in this report posted a loss for August.
FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index:
S&P Dow Jones Indices Market Attributes: Europe Index Dashboard
Date 31/08/2015