Synopsis of Q1 2018 Too far too fast; In the first four weeks of the year the S&P 500 was already up by 6% and this was following 2017 where it had risen by 25%. This move saw historical valuation metrics being stretched. The technical correction; We wrote at the time, the catalyst for early February’s correction was inflationary data…
Synopsis of the week Comments from politicians rather than economic data is once again driving the markets as worries over the tussle between the US and China over trade tariffs have knocked investor confidence. As expected, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced a 25 basis point interest rate rise in the US taking rates up to 1.75%. The major US equity…
Synopsis of the week The Swiss National Bank confirmed they remain poised to use currency intervention should any strength in the Swiss Franc materialize. ECB rate rise remains some way off as President Mario Draghi confirms they will only start when we are “well past” the end of the current Quantitative Easing scheme. Relations between Russia and the UK…
Synopsis of the week The last remaining moderate member of President Trump’s cabinet Gary Cohn has resigned over the US implementation of Steel & Aluminium tariffs. The ECB has removed the option of increasing or extending the current Quantitative Easing scheme and have raised growth expectations for 2018. Fridays impressive US Non-farm payroll figures certainly helped the markets end…
Synopsis of the week Last week saw markets continue to behave erratically as traders weighed Trump policy news and rising rate expectations against increasingly impressive economic data releases. New FED chairman Jerome Powell delivered a strongly upbeat message on the state of the US economy seeing FX traders speculate that we might see four and not three interest rate rises…
SYNOPSIS OF THE WEEK Hawkish comments from last weeks FED minutes suggest the US might see more than just three rate rises during 2018, boosting the US Dollar and spooking equity markets. Traders have spent the week acclimatizing to the increased volatility in the markets as the bulls try to build up their confidence following the recent equity market correction….
Synopsis of the week The Bulls dominated last weeks trading as the “buy the dip” mentality took hold of the investment community, helping to drive equity markets higher. The US Dollar had another poor week, regardless of the economic data releases, increasing the chances of multiple rate rises over the remainder of 2018. Investors once again focused on the…
Synopsis of the week Equity markets had another torrid week closing lower although US markets did rally late on Friday (after Europe’s trading session stopped) closing the day out with the S&P 500 +1.5%, Dow Jones +1.4% and Nasdaq +1.7%. Regardless of current equity market volatility, Central banks spent last week confirming their interest rate rising policies, reflecting their confidence…
Synopsis of the week Having started the year heading higher at an aggressive pace, equity markets spent much of last week giving back those gains. Bond markets look to have escalated last weeks equity market sell-off as the possibility of the FED raising rates more than 3 times in 2018 increased. Angela Merkel and the SDP still can’t finalise terms…
Synopsis of the week Having missed coming to Davos last year, US President Donald Trump’s presence has caused quite a stir as his views on the US Dollar strength and ongoing trade negotiations have been closely scrutinized. The US dollar continues to be weak, down 3.7% so far this year and down 1.53% this week alone. The majority of financial…
