Posts Tagged Europe

2025 is proving to be a case study for those who believe time in the market is more important than timing the market.

2025 has been a very noisy year so far. Important news has come thick and fast, be it related to trade tariffs, defence spending, artificial intelligence or other themes.

April 2025 was a historic month for stock markets, which declined rapidly upon President Trump’s announcement of huge international trade tariffs, then rose almost as quickly when he reined back on them.

The mood among institutional investors has deteriorated in recent weeks, due to US-centric concerns. Trade tariffs, sticky inflation and slowing growth are the dominant topics of conversation.

We are at a point in time where US stocks are dominating all others, in terms of both their outright size and the strength of their returns. In 2024, the MSCI USA index gained 24.6%, almost double the 12.4% return achieved by the rest of the world (MSCI World ex-USA). However, 2025 does bring a mixed outlook for unemployment and inflation, in the US and elsewhere, therefore it will be interesting to see if investment returns can remain so strong in the coming year.

2024 has been a very good year for investors so far, with stock markets in the UK, US and Europe all reaching record highs. Signs of weakness have emerged in recent weeks, as companies report their latest earnings: valuations in the US are high and some profit taking has occurred. The UK stock market appears cheaper, with an improving economy to boot. Many investors believe inflation is finally under control.