Louis Hutchings

With the recent US presidential election resulting in Donald Trump’s victory, the global financial community is carefully considering how potential policy shifts in Washington may impact investment markets.

The second quarter of 2024 was relatively strong for most assets, characterised by a reassessment of inflation and interest rate expectations, shifting central bank policies, and notable geopolitical and political developments.

After a challenging April which saw investor resolve tested amidst sticky inflation, markets managed to regain some of their footing in May, helped by dovish central bank rhetoric and softer economic data.

April proved to be a challenging month for a number of asset classes as growing evidence of sticky inflation made investors rethink the prevailing “soft landing” narrative, putting a “no landing” scenario at the forefront of their minds.

The first quarter of 2024 proved to be a strong one for risk assets, with several major equity indices reaching record highs as continued excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) and growing hopes for a soft landing (inflation slowing down with a recession being avoided) played a significant role in steering market dynamics.

February was a strong month for risk assets, with several major equity indices reaching record highs where continued excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) played a significant role in steering market dynamics. The “Magnificent 7”, a group of technology and AI-related stocks, posted their best performance in nine months and among them, Nvidia stood out, surging by 28.6% following strong underlying earnings growth.

The fourth quarter of 2023 was virtually the mirror opposite of the prior quarter, starting poorly but a very good period for markets overall. This was primarily due to a big move lower in government bond yields during November and December, which came after the US 10-year government bond yield peaked at just over 5% in October, a level not seen since the 2008 Financial Crisis.

July was another good month for equity markets, with declining inflationary pressure and resilient economic data. However, central banks remained hawkish, Simon Watts explains.

Are we seeing a return to the ‘old normal’? Bonds are back and active managers want to utilise the opportunity for clients, by targeting attractive bonds and avoiding the worst. Louis Hutchings explains.

Despite many challenges and ongoing uncertainties, Q2 saw global markets post yet another set of strong equity returns after what was an already solid start to the year, Simon Watts explains.