Global equities climb despite geopolitical headwinds as Eurozone inflation cools and U.S. hiring slows, supporting dovish monetary policy outlook.
This week @ 16:00 pm – Friday 9th January – London.
Markets:
- FTSE 100 rose 1.69% this week to 10,119.02, supported by strength in financials and energy.
- S&P 500 rose 1.03% this week to 6,929.13, driven by tech resilience and easing rate concerns.
- Nasdaq Composite rose 1.09% this week to 23,488.99, led by gains in AI-related stocks.
- Euro Stoxx 50 rose 2.26% this week to 5,069.16, helped by strong industrials and luxury names.
Bonds:
- UK 10-year gilt yields fell 2 bps this week to 4.38%, reflecting steady demand amid muted inflation data.
- U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell 1 bp this week to 4.17%, as markets priced in slower Fed tightening.
Commodities:
- Brent crude rose 2.36% this week to $63.45, supported by supply concerns and firm demand.
- Gold rose 1.42% this week to $4,524.10/oz, as investors sought safety amid geopolitical uncertainty.
- Copper rose 2.03% this week to $5.91/lb, driven by optimism around industrial demand.
FX:
- GBP/USD fell 0.92% this week to 1.3411, as the dollar strengthened on risk-off sentiment.
- GBP/EUR eased 0.22% this week to 1.1525, reflecting euro resilience versus sterling.
- GBP/JPY rose 0.48% this week to 211.85, as yen weakened on continued BoJ easing stance.
Macro:
- U.S. jobs: Nonfarm payrolls +50,000 in December; unemployment rate 4.4%. Revisions showed weaker prior months.
- Eurozone: December CPI softened to 2.0% year‑on‑year in December, down from 2.1% in November, supporting expectations for a cautious ECB stance.
- UK: Nationwide reported a ‑0.4% monthly fall in December, leaving annual growth at 0.6%, highlighting ongoing moderation
Companies:
No notable updates from our holdings or target list this week.
What we will be keeping an eye on next week…
w/c 12th January
- U.S. CPI (14 Jan), UK GDP monthly estimate (15 Jan).
- U.S. earnings season begins, with major banks reporting.
Markets move constantly and the numbers in this update will change. This is a snapshot only, pulled together from a range of sources, and is meant as a quick guide rather than a precise record. It’s not investment advice and shouldn’t be used to make trading or investment decisions. If you need more accurate or specific data over a defined period, please get in touch with a member of the team who will be happy to help.
Important Information
This article is for information only and does not constitute advice or recommendation and you should not make any investment decisions based on it. The views and opinions of this article are those of Casterbridge at the time of writing and may change without notice. Any opinions should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from investments managed by Casterbridge nor as advice of any nature. It is important to remember that past performance and the value of an investment, and any income from it, may go down as well as up and the investor may not get back the original amount invested.