Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1477178
Name Current Change %Change Open High Low Prev. Value Close US MARKETS NASDAQ 13,037.49 -344.03 -2.57 13511.75 13533.78 13032.17 13381.52 EUROPEAN MARKETS FTSE 7,251.31 -246.87 -3.29 7498.18 7498.18 7243.44 7498.18 CAC 6,451.79 -328.88 -4.85 6496.25 6617.09 6433.51 6780.67 DAX 13,854.52 -776.84 -5.31 13989.41 14221.71 13826.70 14631.36 ASIAN MARKETS SGX Nifty 16,141.00 -109.00 -0.67 17052.50 17115.00 15500.50 17063.00 Nikkei 225 25,970.82 -478.79 -1.81 26281.35 26357.58 25775.64 26449.61 Straits Times 3,276.06 -116.94 -3.45 3351.24 3363.17 3248.93 3393.00 Hang Seng 22,901.56 -758.72 -3.21 23268.03 23376.37 22786.39 23660.28 Taiwan Weighted 17,594.55 -461.18 -2.55 17939.53 17939.53 17561.07 18055.73 KOSPI 2,648.80 -70.73 -2.60 2689.28 2694.55 2642.63 2719.53 SET Composite 1,662.72 -33.73 -1.99 1683.92 1690.50 1656.62 1696.45 Jakarta Composite 6,817.82 -102.24 -1.48 6912.48 6929.91 6758.86 6920.06 Shanghai Composite 3,429.96 -59.19 -1.70 3474.37 3486.98 3400.21 3489.15 25.08.2022 7 MARKETS International Markets Global Indices Trading Date: 24 Aug 2022 Global dividends reach record high in Q2 of 2022 GLOBAL dividends reached a record high in the second quarter of 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, accord- ing to the latest Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index. Quarterly dividends reached a record $544.8bn last quar- ter, up 11.3% from last quarter. Europe and the UK were also key drivers of dividend growth, with dividends rising 28.7% and 29.3% on an underlying basis respectively. Underlying growth was even stronger, seeing 19.1% growth once the strength of the dollar and other factors were considered. 94% of firms either raised payouts or held them steady in the last quarter. e recovery from the pandemic has been so strong that dividends now sit just 2.3% below the long-term trend. Janus Henderson now forecasts in 2022 total dividend payouts will total $1.56trn, however the firm noted that the second half of the year will see growth headwinds in rising inflation. Dividend growth in the US lagged the wider world at 8.3%, however the increase still led to a new US dividend record. ere were also new quarterly records in Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands. e two key players in the growth worldwide were oil and financials, who each contributed two-fifths to sec- ond quarter growth, with Janus Henderson adding that oil firms in Brazil and Colombia were particularly significant. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary sectors, especially car manufacturers, also delivered strong dividend growth. Ben Lofthouse, head of global equity income for Janus Henderson, said: "e second quarter was a little ahead of our expectations, but the rest of the year is unlikely to see such strong growth. Many of the easy gains have now been made as the post-Covid-19 catch-up is almost complete. We are also facing a significantly slower global economy and the headwind from the strength of the US dollar. "As we move into 2023, there will be no more impetus from post-Covid-19 catch-up payments. Moreover, slow- er global economic growth and the likelihood that mining dividends are now close to peaking will add a further head- wind, though exchange rates are unlikely to act as a signif- icant drag on headline growth next year given the curren- cy impact witnessed in recent months. Overall, dividend growth is likely to be slower next year given the current economic outlook. "It is important not to let short-term uncertainty cloud the long-term view. ere is nothing to suggest that global dividends cannot sustain over the long term the 5-6% an- nual growth rate we have become used to. "e economic cycle rises and falls, exchange rate fluc- tuations dissipate almost entirely over the long-term, and even the impact of Covid-19 on global payouts has already been overcome."