Central bank week
It’s been another nervy week for investors. Month-end positioning may have had a part to play in creating ups and downs, but most markets were more focused on interest rate decisions. The Bank of England (BoE) cut, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked, and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) stuck. Western central bankers now acknowledge that slower growth needs at least neutral, if not supportive, monetary policy, while Japan is at the opposite end of its cycle.
July 2024 asset returns review
July was a dramatic month in capital markets. Huge political events were scattered throughout the month, starting with an electoral landslide for the new Labour government here, and ending with renewed Israel-Iran tensions. In between these were the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump, and President Biden’s decision to drop out of November’s election. These events formed the backdrop for a stock market realignment: the previously dominant US mega-tech stocks lost, while smaller-caps and equities outside the US gained. The irony is that, after all these twists and turns, the global stock index level ended almost exactly where it was a month ago in sterling terms.