In a year of few ups and many downs, investors enjoyed a decent rally in November, which continued the upward trend that was established in mid-October. This can be mainly attributed to the emergence of first signs that central banks could win their war against inflation. While recent US inflation figures remained on a high level, the lower than expected number was enough to awaken bullish animal spirits. Certainly, better than expected earnings, both in Europe and the US also helped. However, we cannot shake off the feeling that these would have been seen as “the last good quarter”, similar to what we experienced in Q2/22. Looking at the best performing sectors, technology tops the list with utilities and construction companies following close behind. Health care, staples and other defensive sectors were laggards. Interestingly, European markets outperformed their international peers, with the Austrian market being among the best and thus closing some of its YTD performance gap. The biggest index weights were also the leaders with banks, energy and cyclical stocks outperforming the broader market. Fiber producer Lenzing is certainly a special case here: the stock plummeted after a profit warning only to rebound strongly in November. Certainly not for the faint of heart. You also need good nerves when looking at the transactions among the Austrian real estate companies, especially when you look at them from a governance perspective. After all these changes, it is sometimes difficult to know exactly who owns what but maybe that’s the point. We have certainly had an eventful year, which makes investors long for a more silent time until the end of the year. After the strong run, markets would also benefit from a consolidation at these levels to continue their upward trend next year. Let’s hope for some Christmas peace, we could certainly use it this year!
Author:
Bernhard Haas, Erste Asset Management GmbH
Fund manager
23 November 2022
 |  |
Note
Wiener Börse AG would explicitly like to point out that the data and calculations given in this report are historic values, which do not permit any conclusions as regards future developments or value stability. Price fluctuations and loss of capital are possible in securities trading. The contribution is the personal opinion of the analyst and does not constitute a financial analysis or a recommendation for investment by the exchange operating company, Wiener Börse AG.