Buy America or sell America? Investor sentiment showed signs of splitting between the two impulses this week, with US equities markets rallying strongly at the same time as global bond and currency traders are raising questions about monetary and fiscal stewardship under US President Donald Trump’s administration. The renewed scepticism about economic policy revives the…
South Korea’s KOSPI market enjoyed a white-hot streak in the first half of the year, more than doubling in value by the end of June. The massive bull run was powered by unprecedented gains in two semiconductor stocks, with Samsung Electronics nearly tripling in value and SK Hynix rising more than fourfold by the time…
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,…
