Economics
Australia's Economy Is Slowing. Its Stock Market Isn't
- Benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index posted best first quarter ever
- The stock market rally has defied all odds, Saxo’s Creagh says
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When a country’s economic growth slows, its stock market usually follows suit. Not in Australia.
Despite a backdrop of troubling economic signals, the nation’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied almost 10 percent in the first quarter -- its best-ever performance to begin a year in data going back almost three decades. Strong commodity prices and promises of easy monetary policy from central banks are working in the gauge’s favor even as Australia’s property slump deepens and its economy continues to wane.