Tuesday Digest
Nvidia versus the Fed Having had recovered to previous highs, markets were mostly flat to slightly down overall this week. Despite the surprise election call dominating our headlines, global markets were preoccupied with Nvidia’s corporate earnings and the US Federal Reserve meeting...
Monday Digest
Pluses and minuses Global stocks edged higher last week, led by the US. The S&P 500’s slight gain was enough to push it to all-time highs, making a fairly average week seem like a great one. US equities were propelled by April’s...
Monday Digest
A blooming May for the UK Markets had a bright week, thanks to weaker US job market data and hints that the Federal Reserve might cut rates. US consumer sentiment seems to be wavering thanks to higher inflation, but the Fed thinks...
Monday digest
Inflation, a common side effect of growth Volatility is back, but it’s not all bad. UK stocks fared well, thanks to BHP’s takeover bid for Anglo American, and China is recovering from January blues. On the other end is Japan, whose equities...
Monday Digest
Market quiet on the Middle Eastern front Israel and Iran’s escalating conflict presents huge risks for the world, but at the moment we can take comfort that the respective aerial bombardments seem to be more about showing force than hurting each other....
Monday digest
What the return of volatility tells us Equities were fairly stable in the US and UK last week, despite bond yields moving higher. Europe was the opposite: stocks fell despite falling yields. We might have thought bond volatility would hurt risk assets...
Monday digest
Bumpy start to the quarter Last week saw 2024’s first real bout of volatility. The S&P 500 had its biggest one-day percentage range in over a year on Thursday. This came after two extremely strong quarters for investors. Indeed, we suspect it...
Tuesday digest
Everyone is an optimist now The first quarter of 2024 was another strong one for stocks. That’s a pleasant surprise, given the massive rally that came before. The MSCI World Index has only had one down week since the end of October,...
Monday Digest
Stick to the Plan Brighter days for markets; returns were strong across the board last week, thanks to central bank messaging. The Bank of England (BoE) “has done its job” according to Governor Bailey, and “we are not seeing a lot of...
Monday digest
Overview: Rates up, down, and going sideways Bond prices slid last week while consolidation continued in the global equity markets. Notably, Japan was weaker and US large caps largely unchanged. There was a sense of disappointment, that left investors wondering if optimism...
Monday digest
Overview: At least currency markets noticed the budget Markets gained again last week, with the S&P 500 hitting another all-time high. But thanks to sterling gaining 1.5% against the US dollar, our table shows negative index returns. Sterling strength may be partly...
Monday digest
Overview: Winners and losers of stabilising yieldsLast week was one of positive price action in equities, although the US mega-caps did less well, while bond markets were rather stable. Indeed, stable bond markets are one of the reasons why equity markets can...
Monday digest
Overview: M&A activity sets growth against valueEquities moved higher again last week, with gains made across global markets. Even China put in another week of positive returns following the largest ever cut to the five-year housing loan prime rate (admittedly only 0.25%)....
Monday digest
Overview: The UK is not growing in real terms or nominal termsThe UK is in a technical recession, defined as two quarters of real growth contraction. Meanwhile, last week’s release of UK jobs market data for December showed surprising tightness. The unemployment...
Monday digest
Overview: are US stocks bubbling up?Last week, the US large-cap equity market shook off the rest of the world, and the S&P 500 marched to another new milestone, trading above 5,000 for the first time. But the stand-out performer of the week...
Monday digest
Overview: Central banks challenge goldilocks assumptionsSurprisingly decent monthly returns were soured on the last day of January when the US Federal Reserve dampened the mood by repeating the message that rate cuts will begin later than markets anticipate. That this reiteration led...
Monday digest
Overview: Positive growth sentiment returnsAfter January’s bumpy start, and the volatile two weeks that followed, it looks like investors are finding their feet again. Almost entirely across the board, regional equity markets are up another healthy amount, with even China managing another...
Monday digest
Overview: ‘Lower, slower’ replaces ‘Higher for longer’Positive sentiment, driven by expectations of an imminent and significant onset of rate cuts, began to wane last week, and global capital markets resumed their volatile path of last year. The combination of a distinct slowing...
Monday digest
Overview: a bumpy upwards path aheadThe equity market’s New Year malaise lasted no longer than usual. Last week, European equities recovered the previous week’s losses while US indices moved ahead smartly. However, softness in global banks hit the FTSE 100, as did...
Monday Digest
Overview: After the party, the hangover After the Christmas party, January perhaps started with a bit of a hangover. After an exceptional last two months of 2023, both equity and bond prices fell back last week as trading volumes normalised. UK and...