Market News & Analysis

What mattered last week: The first week of the new quarter saw U.S. stock markets continue in the same style they finished last quarter. The S&P 500 rose over 2% for the week. The Russell 2000 outperformed to finished 2.75% higher and back above the 200-day moving average.

What mattered last week: U.S. stock markets finished the week and the quarter strongly. The S&P 500 rising 1.15% for the week and almost 13% for the quarter.

What mattered last week: The FOMC meeting, delivered an unambiguously dovish message. The key points being the dots were cut to a median of no interest rate hikes this year and the balance sheet run down will end in September of this year, with the pace of shrinkage to slow from May.

What mattered last week: U.S. stocks rallied, recovering from the losses of the previous week. The S&P500 finished +2.89% higher while the Nasdaq posted a 4.15% gain for the week.

What mattered last week: Last week was the 10-year anniversary of the lowest levels that the U.S. stock markets traded to during the dark days of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). Perhaps in sympathy, and after 10 straight weeks of gains the high beta Nasdaq index closed almost -2.0% lower for the week, as did the S&P500. Elsewhere, the German DA...

What mattered last week: U.S. stock indices spent most of last week consolidated the gains of the past two months, before staging a rally on Friday, which ensured the S&P 500 etched out a 0.39% gain for the week and a 2.97% gain for the month of February

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.