Market News & Analysis

What mattered last week: After a strong start to the year and to the week, markets adopted a more cautious tone after CNBC reported that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi were unlikely to meet before March 1, the deadline for tariffs on US$250 billion of Chinese exports, to rise from 10% to 25%. The more cautious climate saw the S&P5...

What mattered last week: An eventful week as the Fed completed its U turn, to deliver a more dovish than expected message at the Federal Reserve interest rate meeting. In the statement, Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell said the case for raising rates had “weakened somewhat” and that the FOMC would be patient and flexible in assessing its ne...

What mattered last week: UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU was rejected by MPs in parliament's lower House of Commons by a record margin, 432 votes to 202. Following the defeat, Theresa May narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in her government, a motion that was brought by Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn. In addi...

What mattered last week: S&P500 futures closed higher every day last week and have now rallied almost 12% from their lows of late December.

What mattered last week: The first trading week of the New Year started in much the same volatile fashion as 2018 finished.

What mattered last week: Some easing in U.S. – China trade tensions last week as China resumed some commodity imports from the U.S. and announced the 25 percent tariff imposed on vehicles as a tit-for-tat measure will be scrapped starting Jan 1.

What mattered last week: - It was all about volatility again last week. After global equities rallied strongly on Monday following an agreement between the U.S. and China to declare a 90-day truce in the trade war, investor concerns turned to;

What mattered last week: - Over the weekend, the U.S. and China agreed a truce in the trade war promising to halt the imposition of new tariffs for 90 days and to work together to negotiate a lasting agreement. - U.S. stocks outperformed last week as the S&P500 enjoyed its best week in 7 years closing almost 5% higher while the Nasdaq finished alm...

What mattered last week: - Stock markets again the focus as the volatility episode of October deepened. - In the U.S., the S&P500, the Russell 2000 and the Dow Jones have now given back all of their 2018 gains. Only the Nasdaq remains in positive territory for the year.

What mattered last week: The month of October again lived up to its a reputation for being a challenging month for equity markets.