Market review for April 2025

Key market review takeaways for April 2025

• The trials and tribulations of United States (US) President Trump’s tariff regime remained the main feature for global financial markets in April 2025. On 2 April, Trump’s more aggressive and wide-ranging than expected tariff increases caused a sharp sell-off in risk assets around the world as markets digested the enhanced negative implications for US and global economic growth going forward. However, Trump backtracked on 9 April, postponing tariffs by 90 days for all countries except China, causing markets to rebound strongly during the rest of the month as risk aversion subsided.

• Global bonds produced the strongest returns amongst the global asset classes in April, with European and Japanese yields meaningfully lower over the month as investors scoured the world for safe-haven alternatives to US Treasuries, particularly against the backdrop of higher tariff-induced inflation risk in the US going forward and concerns about the independence of the US central bank after repeated derogatory comments by Trump about the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s handling of interest rate policy.

• Ongoing safe-haven demand and significant US dollar weakness also supported a further rise in the dollar gold price in April. In contrast, the dollar platinum price reacted negatively to intensifying global growth fears.
• Within the global equity space, emerging market equities outperformed developed market equities in April, with Mexico a major beneficiary of the tariff reprieve. Among the developed markets, Japan and Europe sharply
outperformed the US, as investors persisted to question the continuation of US exceptionalism under Trump’s stewardship. A slightly weaker rand in April added to dollar-denominated asset class returns in the month for South
African (SA) rand-based investors.

• SA listed property provided the strongest returns of all main global and local asset classes in April, rebounding after a torrid previous six-month period. SA equities outperformed local fixed income in the month, as worries mounted
about the country’s fiscal prognosis in the aftermath of another national budget collapse following widespread opposition to any proposed VAT increase. A second consecutive lower-than-expected inflation number also put
pressure on inflation-linked bond returns in April. Among SA equities, Financials and Industrials outperformed Resources in the month, with relief about the survival of the Government of National Unity supporting SA Inc counters.

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