- The global economy is ending a year of strong recovery, with real GDP growth estimated at 5.7%, following the sharp 3.5% decline in 2020.
- The recovery was fueled by massive emergency fiscal support by governments, together with very easy monetary policy by most central banks, keeping interest rates low.
- However, recurring waves of COVID infections and government responses with restrictive measures have slowed the pace of the recovery, hitting the service sectors of economies and contributing to widespread supply bottlenecks.
- Global equities as measured by the MSCI ACWI Index of global large- and mid-cap stocks rose a healthy 16.3% year-to-date as of December 17th. However, when the US stocks are excluded, whereas the S&P 500 advanced by 23%, the international equity markets gained just a modest 6.2%, according to the MSCI ACWI - ex USA Index.
For further details see:
International Equities Q4 2021