Posts Tagged Stocks

Stocks started the year with gusto and many of the world’s major indexes gained between 2% and 6% within the first fortnight. However, since then the American market has been particularly weak and there have been signs of profit taking in certain areas.

We enter 2026 with US stocks dominating the global market while trading on expensive valuations. A small number of tech stocks account for a large portion of US returns and they are increasingly tied to the fortunes of the AI industry. These are certainly risks to be aware of.

Risk appetite remained strong last month with the US and UK stock markets achieving new record highs. The first days of August have been a little more muted, with economic data proving mixed, but interest rates are on a declining path once again and may provide a lift.

A Steady Start to 2024 -
The year has begun on a tentative footing following the excesses of November and December, when asset prices galloped higher. Investors have paused to reflect on the ‘wall of worry’ that is said to accompany most bull markets. 

Investors enter 2024 with optimism -
Global stocks closed 2023 with their fourth largest annual return of the last twenty years. But those gains mostly came from a narrow group. The seven largest companies in the US - Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Facebook & Tesla – returned a colossal 111% on average.

October was another difficult month for investors - the culmination of three consecutive months where stocks and bonds have declined together. However, the US and UK central banks provided “dovish” statements on November 1st and 2nd, stating policy is adequately restrictive in light of slowing inflation. Markets are now forecasting that further interest rate hikes are highly unlikely and have entered the new month on a positive note.