On this week’s AHR Market review.

Equity markets recorded a fourth straight week of gains and reached record highs, following the release of inflation data from the US that has investors once again betting that interest rate cuts may not be too far away.

The catalyst for the market moves over the week appeared to be the release of US inflation data in the form of the consumer price index (CPI).

Elsewhere in economic developments that supported this week's narrative, US retail sales plateaued unexpectedly in April, marking a stark contrast to the 0.6% increase seen in the preceding month.

Dealing with a very different economic dynamic, China has announced additional stimulus measures to rejuvenate its faltering property sector.

Looking at equity returns, US equities closed the week up 1.5% whilst US technology added over 2% for the week demonstrating greater sensitivity to the potential of rate cuts in the US as soon as September.

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

On this week’s AHR Market review.

Equity markets rose for the third week in a row as quarter one earnings season draws to close and US markets once again get close to all-time highs.

With 90% of S&P 500 companies now having disclosed their earnings for the first quarter, the results have surpassed analyst predictions by a notable 8.5%, marking the most significant positive surprise since the third quarter of 2021.

Furthermore, profitability has seen an uptick after facing pressures throughout 2022 and part of 2023, largely due to a moderation in input-cost inflation.

Looking at monetary policy, the Bank of England (BoE) opted to maintain its base rate at 5.25%, following a 7-2 majority decision by its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its recent meeting.

Over the week the US equities added around 2% and US technology rose over 1%.

Looking to the week ahead, all eyes will be on the US CPI release on Wednesday.

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

On this week’s AHR Market review.

In a week filled with US economic data, Fed rate decisions and corporate earnings announcements, global equity and bond markets edged higher.

The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and signalled it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs but put a red flag on recent disappointing inflation readings that could make those rate cuts a while in coming.

Key US employment data released during the week saw the U.S. economy add 175,000 jobs in April, notably below consensus estimates of 240,000 new payrolls.

Profits at some of the biggest technology companies continued to improve as earnings season neared an end.

Whilst the US fed rate announcement went largely as expected, the softer US labour data was received positively by markets and saw US equities record a 0.5% return for the week, with US technology adding 1.4%.

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