Chart of the Week
As we approach the mid-year mark, the NSX Commodity Index has outperformed all other asset classes year-to-date. This strong performance can largely be attributed to the surge in gold’s price, which reached its all-time high of USD 3500 per troy ounce in April. Investor demand for safe-haven assets intensified during March and April amid the heightened global uncertainty. A driver of this uncertainty was the implementation of global tariffs by U.S President Donald Trump, which sparked a brief but impactful trade conflict between the U.S. and China. Although most of these tariffs are currently paused, they will be an important factor to watch in the months ahead.
The stock market downturn during this period also explains the underperformance of the MSCI World Index, which has been the worst-performing index year-to-date. The MSCI World Index is heavily influenced by the performance of U.S. tech stocks, which experienced significant declines during the market crash. While some recovery began to take shape toward the end of April, the earlier losses left a noticeable mark on year-to-date returns.
Meanwhile, the NSX Local Index has delivered steady returns in recent months. This has been supported by strong performances from several local stocks, including Standard Bank Namibia trading at an all-time high of N$10.52, Letshego Holdings Namibia at N$6.50, and Capricorn Group at N$21.55.
The stock market downturn during this period also explains the underperformance of the MSCI World Index, which has been the worst-performing index year-to-date. The MSCI World Index is heavily influenced by the performance of U.S. tech stocks, which experienced significant declines during the market crash. While some recovery began to take shape toward the end of April, the earlier losses left a noticeable mark on year-to-date returns.
Meanwhile, the NSX Local Index has delivered steady returns in recent months. This has been supported by strong performances from several local stocks, including Standard Bank Namibia trading at an all-time high of N$10.52, Letshego Holdings Namibia at N$6.50, and Capricorn Group at N$21.55.
