The ceasefire between the US and Iran has come unstuck, with America completing a 13th night of strikes on the Middle Eastern country yesterday. As of now, both countries appear to be moving further away from an off-ramp, with the danger of the conflict escalating to new levels. Not only has Iran hit US targets…
Two familiar themes have driven equities markets once again this week: jitters about whether AI stocks can keep justifying their valuations and anxiety about the oil price surge amid renewed conflict between Iran and the US. Major indices drifted slightly downwards as investors weighed up their hopes for second quarter earnings against their fears of…
Equities markets have found reason for renewed optimism in the same week that the US is celebrating 250 years of independence. Most Magnificent Seven big tech stocks have recovered from a difficult June, with an easing in energy costs and softer-than-expected employment data shifting the market’s attention away from geopolitics and back towards monetary policy.…
Brent crude prices dropped to around $73 a barrel this week, reverting to levels last seen before war broke out in Iran in late February. This indicator carries enormous symbolic weight for investors, who have spent the past few months worrying about geopolitical risk and the dangers of a prolonged disruption to global energy supply.…
Equities markets rallied early this week as the US and Iran announced plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that could bring an end to nearly four months of conflict. Markets cheered the prospect of a resolution to a war that has rattled global energy markets and strained supply chains since late February. The…
Equity markets enjoyed a remarkable run through April and May, powered higher by strong earnings reports for the first quarter and investor confidence in technology companies’ Artificial Intelligence (AI) capital expenditure plans. However, the rally hit a wall late last week after semiconductor and infrastructure software company, Broadcom, released its earnings report for its second…
When the US and Israel started pounding Iranian targets on February 28, they envisaged a swift military campaign and a decisive victory. Four months later, the world is in limbo as the US and Iran struggle to negotiate a resolution to the war. A fragile ceasefire has mostly held since 8 April, despite some skirmishes,…
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and MSCI World once again powered to new highs this week, closing 1.2%, 2.2%, and 1% higher, respectively, at the time of writing. The indices are on track for their best monthly closes of the year. Risk-on sentiment prevailed as investors reacted to this week’s oil price decline to $91.34 a…
The phrase “The Secret Seven” was coined by global investment manager Ninety One to describe seven crucial Asian technology companies that power global AI infrastructure. The term was designed to highlight hardware champions in Asia that are as foundational to AI as the US “Magnificent Seven” but have been historically undervalued by the market. Although…
