The second quarter ended with the US stock market enjoying its strongest three-month period for 22 years, with the broad index rising by 20%. Coincidentally, in the first quarter, the same index fell by 20%. Although arithmetically it does not …
As we approach the end of the second quarter, stocks have held on to most of the gains seen over the past three months. Markets continue to focus on the progress of the coronavirus pandemic. The trade-off between the easing …
After the previous week’s stock market sell-off, last week saw buyers return, with major indices rising by 2-3%. The previous wobble was partly prompted by concern that Covid-9 cases were rising across a number of southern states in the US. …
Last week represented the first test of global equity markets since late March, with major indices falling by around 5%. To put this into context, share prices have rebounded in virtually a straight line since bottoming out on 23 March. …
Global stock markets continued their strong rally last week, rising by over 5%. Sentiment was buoyed by more monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank, a fiscal package from Germany, but also, an extraordinary set of employment data from the …
Another mildly positive week for UK based equity investors, with global shares beating local ones once again. Technology stocks and those with good growth prospects have generally had a better lockdown than value shares, those with problems but which appear …
Markets continue to focus on the progress of Covid-19 and potential treatments/vaccines as well as the speed with which countries reduce lockdown restrictions. Only America could have something called ‘Operation Warp Speed’, their initiative to find a vaccine for the …
Last week, economic data from the US provided a stark reminder of the economic as well as the health consequences of Covid-19. Unemployment reached 14.7% in April, while industrial production fell by 11.2%, after a decline of 4.5% in March. …
There has been much comment in recent days about the fact that the five largest stocks in the US by market value now represent just over 20% of the index. This exceeds the previous concentration peak of 18% during the …
Despite a sell-off on the last day, April was one of the strongest months for global equities for many years. US stocks were a whisker away from recording their best rise since 1974. This left stock markets well out of …