Global equities markets entered April 2026 awash in red, with losses primarily driven by an escalating conflict in the Middle East and a surge in oil prices. But investors had every reason to be pleased with market performance in the second quarter of the year, with most indices erasing the losses of the first quarter…
Similar to the same period last year, most equities indices worldwide ended the first quarter of 2026 deeply in the red. The themes that dominated the early weeks of the year, including an upswing in emerging markets, a rotation from tech into other sectors, the ‘AI scare trade’ and ongoing worries about Trump’s tariffs, have…
2025 was a positive year for investors, with equities delivering strong dollar returns for the third successive year. But it was also a year that upended many previously safe assumptions about which regions, assets, and markets produce the best returns. Growth broadened beyond the US to world markets (including emerging markets), and a weak dollar…
The third quarter of 2025, ending 30 September, has seen gains for most equity indices around the world. The continued momentum behind artificial intelligence (AI) and the materialisation of a long-anticipated interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve contributed to the positive momentum. The S&P 500 index of large-cap stocks and the tech-heavy Nasdaq…
The second three months of 2025 were action-packed, shaped by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff moves and a volatile geopolitical environment. The pace of events was dizzying, but investors should be pleased with the end returns in the face of this period of elevated turbulence. At the outset of the quarter, most analysts and…
The first quarter of 2025 has not been kind to investors. Indeed, we have just come through the worst quarter and month (March) for US equities since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composites entered official correction territory in March as markets digested the possible impact of US President…
With wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as elections in countries homing around four billion people, 2024 was always expected to be turbulent. With this in mind and following a 26% recovery for the S&P 500 in 2023, we, and most economists, started the year with relatively modest expectations in terms…
It has certainly been an action-packed quarter for the markets, spanning a correction for tech stocks at the end of July and into the flash crash in early August, and then a strong recovery in August and again in September. Overall, investors have every reason to be pleased with where the three months to 30…
Investors have reason to be pleased with the market performance in the second quarter of 2024, with even a delay in the start of the Fed’s interest rate loosening cycle failing to dampen performance. After a robust first quarter followed by April’s relatively sharp correction, May and June saw a resumption of the upward trajectory…
