Welcome to this week’s AHR market review, for the week ending 9th August 2024

The global stock markets saw a week of heightened volatility, driven by a mix of economic data releases, central bank actions, and sector-specific developments.

In the United States, the three major indices — the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite — showed mixed performances, with only slight changes by the end of the week.

European markets were similarly unstable.

In Asia, the Japanese stock market was notably volatile, with the Nikkei 225 fluctuating throughout the week.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index ended the week slightly lower as concerns over the country's economic growth continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Indian markets also faced challenges during the week.

Commodities markets mirrored the unease in equities, with gold prices inching higher as investors sought safe-haven assets, with gold futures trading around $2,470 per ounce by the end of the week.

Overall, the week was characterized by cautious trading as investors grappled with mixed economic signals, central bank actions, and sector-specific developments.

That’s all for this week’s AHR Weekly Podcast. Thank you for listening and for further investment insights head over to ahrprivatewealth.com

Welcome to this week’s AHR market review for the week ending 4th August 2024.

An eventful week for markets saw a host of central bank rate decisions and volatility towards the back end of the week following unexpected employment data released from the US Labour Department.

The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% in July amid a significant slowdown in hiring, heightening fears the labour market was deteriorating and potentially making the economy vulnerable to a recession.

Whilst earlier in the week the US Federal Reserve meeting went as expected with rates held steady, the Bank of England cut its key interest rate by a quarter point to 5.00%, its first reduction to borrowing costs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

Companies representing nearly 40% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization reported second-quarter earnings during the week, including four of the Magnificent Seven—Microsoft, Meta Platforms (Facebook), Apple, and Amazon.com.

The US Technology index entered correction territory during the week as it has now fallen 10% from it’s recent high, down 3.4% for the week.

The shifting interest-rate outlook and fresh economic data fuelled a price rally for government bonds, sending the yield of the 10-year U.S.

That’s all for this week’s AHR Weekly Podcast. Thank you for listening and for further investment insights head over to ahrprivatewealth.com.

Welcome to this week’s AHR market review for the week ending 28th July 2024.

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ experienced their second consecutive weekly decline amid volatile trading, while the Dow Jones bucked the trend, marking its fourth straight weekly gain.

In a surprising turn, the U.S. economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in the second quarter, driven by robust consumer spending and business investment.

The increase in GDP was bolstered by inventory accumulation and heightened government expenditure.

The Commerce Department also released data on core personal consumption expenditures (PCE), excluding food and energy, which rose slightly more than expected by 0.2% in June.

The continued deflationary trend seems to have solidified market expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.

As we progress through the second-quarter earnings season, approximately 41% of S&P 500 companies have reported results, with earnings on track to increase by 9.7% year-on-year, surpassing initial estimates of 9% growth at the end of the first quarter.

The most significant positive earnings surprises are emerging from the financials, energy, and healthcare sectors, rather than technology and other growth sectors.

US equities fell almost 1% for the week whilst US technology dropped off over 2%. As the rotation in US equities continues, US value rose over 0.5%.

That’s all for this week’s AHR Weekly Podcast. Thank you for listening and for further investment insights head over to ahrprivatewealth.com.