The World In A Week - Have we gone full circle?
Written by Shane Balkham
Last week seemed to be very much the calm after a short-lived storm. Not wanting to tempt fate, the dust seems to have settled again with financial markets back to almost where they started at the beginning of the month. The S&P 500 index is only a few percentage points below its all-time high, while Japanese equities, arguably at the epicentre with the Bank of Japan’s surprise rate hike, have also recovered significantly since the sharp drop.
A timely reminder that trying to time the markets is a fool’s errand and keeping a cool head and maintaining your investment strategy has been a robust process to follow. If your investment time horizon is measured in years and decades, then short-term movements over days and weeks should not be a cause of worry.
What helped quell the recent volatility was that a series of data publications were slightly better than general expectations. In the UK we had a jobs report for the second quarter, which showed a drop in the level of unemployment and slowing wage growth. Inflation was slightly lower than expected at 2.2% year-over-year to the end of July. Although slightly up from June’s and May’s reading, UK CPI is more or less still at the Bank of England’s target rate. For the US, CPI data continued to trend downwards, reaffirming market expectations that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will cut rates in its September meeting.
The FOMC minutes from the end of July meeting are published this week. Of particular interest will be any commentary around the level of confidence in the decline in inflation and weakening of the US economy. It must be remembered that any details gleaned from these minutes are three weeks old and there has been and will continue to be, a lot of data issued before the next FOMC meeting in four weeks’ time, highlighting the problem of relying on data that is inherently lagged.
The process of bringing down US inflation without causing a recession is a difficult balancing act. The resilience of the US consumer continues to defy gravity, as retail sales data showed a continued willingness to spend. However, with savings that grew during the pandemic largely gone and wage growth cooling, the US consumer is increasingly resorting to credit, raising questions about the longevity of consumer spending, especially as data is showing delinquency on payments are increasing.
While the recent market scares have abated and the US Federal Reserve’s goal of a soft landing looks feasible once again, we have the uncomfortable period of four weeks until the central bank meets to decide whether or not to cut rates. Whatever happens over the remainder of the summer, this demonstrates the importance of holding a diversified investment when the stock market is looking significantly narrow, particularly when we have the annual economic symposium at Jackson Hole this week, which has been the stage for drama in previous years.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 19th August 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Economic data in the driving seat
Written by Millan Chauhan
Last week, we saw some extended moves across global equities and the return of volatility to markets. Global equities, as measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index ended the week +0.4% in GBP terms. However, beneath the surface we saw several economic data releases which markets reacted to in very different ways.
Earlier in August, we saw US unemployment data come in higher than expected which raised a question as to the state of the US economy and whether interest rates have been too high for too long. Last week, markets reacted positively to the weekly jobless claims figure in the US, as they fell to 233,000, which was marginally below expectations. Following this announcement, US equities rallied on Thursday and the S&P 500 closed with its strongest daily gain since November 2022, finishing the week +0.3% higher in GBP terms.
Following the volatility resulting from the Bank of Japan’s decision to hike interest rates to 0.25% in July, the MSCI Japan index fell -12.5% last Monday in local currency terms. The Deputy Governor, Shinichi Uchida, calmed investors by confirming that the bank would not likely hike further while in periods of market instability. Markets reacted positively to this and the MSCI Japan index recovered +9.6% the following day in local currency terms. The MSCI Japan ended down -1.8% for the week in GBP terms.
This week, markets will turn their attention to UK and US inflation data that are set to be released on Wednesday. The UK inflation rate is expected to be at 2.3% for July’s year-over-year reading. The US inflation rate will also be released on Wednesday with expectations that the CPI rate will slow to 3.0% year-over-year. Over the last week, expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts have also increased with the market now pricing in 1.0% of interest rate cuts before the end of the year.
In periods of market volatility and changing economic backdrops, it is important to have diversification in your portfolio across asset class, region and investment style.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 12th August 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
Everything you need to know about the new pensions Lump Sum Allowance
The Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) has replaced the old pensions Lifetime Allowance (LTA) as an important tax consideration when it comes to accessing your retirement savings.
The old LTA was an upper limit on the amount of money you could save into a pension without incurring taxable drawbacks. The limit was set at £1,073,100 – a figure which is still relevant which we will come to shortly.
The LTA differs from the pensions annual contribution allowance which is £60,000 – this is how much you can put into a pension tax-free each year. The LTA was the maximum you could ever put into pension savings in total.
As of this tax year it has now been entirely abolished, although it has in practice been redundant since April 2023 when the principal charge was removed. In its place has been implemented a new Lump Sum Allowance (LSA).
What is the Lump Sum Allowance?
The LSA has replaced the LTA as the main lifetime taxable consideration for pensions savings.
When drawing down your pension you are entitled to a tax-free lump sum. When this tax-free lump sum was initially created it was set at 25% of your overall pot.
With the old LTA set at £1,073,100, this in effect created a maximum tax-free lump sum of £268,275 although this was implicit rather than explicit.
What the Government has done now however is make the lump sum allowance explicit – set at the same amount of £268,275. So now you can take a 25% tax-free lump sum from your pension, but £268,275 is the maximum.
On top of that it has created another allowance, called the lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA) set at £1,073,100. The LSDBA differs in that it is the limit on the tax-free cash available on the death of the pension holder, or if a serious ill-health lump sum is taken under the age of 75.
There is also now an overseas transfer allowance also set at £1,073,100. The overseas transfer allowance is relevant if you intend to transfer your pension abroad.
This can only be done to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS) and can be refused if your provider does not recognise the receiving entity. If it isn’t a QROPS then you’ll face a 40% tax charge, or the provider may refuse to transfer.
What are the tax implications?
The LSA can be triggered when you drawdown your pension and is potentially very valuable to future retirement planning. However, there are some tax implications to consider.
Anything drawn down from a pension above this lump sum will be classed as income and charged at your marginal rate of income tax. However, small lump sum payments of under £10,000 do not count toward the overall limit.
The LSA has also made a subtle but important change in the way in which pension income will be taxed in the future. This is because by creating an official £268,275 maximum for the LSA, the Government in effect created a new kind of potential fiscal drag boundary.
Fiscal drag is a stealth tax used by the Government in recent times to increase its tax take without raiding marginal rates. In effect – if the Government doesn’t increase the LSA in line with inflation in future years, it means that as pension pots increase in value then the Government will increase its overall tax take on the income from those pots, while the value of the allowance diminishes versus inflation.
You must also keep in mind the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA). This is triggered once you draw down pensions funds and will slash your annual contribution limit from £60,000 to just £10,000. This is however an unchanged aspect of pensions and was relevant before the LTA abolition but is still important to be aware of in the context of lump sums.
What is most important therefore is to plan for the rules in front of you. Pensions are not easy products to navigate even at the best of times, so it is essential to consider using the help of a qualified financial adviser to ensure you make the best choices possible for your retirement.
The World In A Week - Diversification is your friend
Written by Chris Ayton
Last week was an extremely volatile one for many global equity markets. The MSCI All Country World Index fell -1.6% over the week in Sterling terms. Global fixed income markets delivered some much-needed diversification with the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index up +1.7% in Sterling hedged terms. Longer-dated bonds, which are more sensitive to interest rate reductions, were up substantially more.
News was dominated by various interest rate decisions. In the US, the Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) decided to keep their headline rate unchanged despite a slew of negative economic data including weaker employment and manufacturing data. This sent jitters through global equity markets as fears grew that the Fed has missed the boat and the US economy is heading towards a hard landing. Weaker-than-expected earnings result announcements from leading tech names like Intel and Amazon did nothing to quell these fears. The S&P 500 Index fell -1.7% over the week with the technology-dominated Nasdaq 100 Index down -2.7%, both in Sterling terms.
In the UK, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee did announce their first move, voting 5 against 4 to cut the UK base rate by 0.25% to 5%. Although they cautioned that further cuts were far from certain, they also cheered the market by raising their UK economic growth projections for 2024 from 0.5% to 1.25%. Despite this positive news, the FTSE All-Share Index fell -1.4% over the week.
However, in Japan, we saw the Bank of Japan surprise markets with a rise in their headline interest rate to 0.25%, with the implication that there are more rises to come. While this boosted the Yen, it resulted in concerns over the impact of a strong Yen on the profits of large Japanese exporters, a view that was accentuated by growing fears over the weakness of the US economy. The MSCI Japan Index dropped -6.0% in local terms over the week, although the strength of the Yen reduced that loss to just -1.3% in Sterling terms.
As Sir John Templeton said, "The only investors who shouldn't diversify are those who are right 100% of the time." The uncertainty around policy decisions, and the macro backdrop, have resulted in the return of market volatility as well as rapid changes in the dominant investment styles. Heavily momentum-driven markets have been followed by sharp style reversals and periods where smaller companies and value styles have led the way. This volatility in markets and styles is likely to continue and is impossible to time. This is where YOU Asset Management’s approach of always maintaining asset class and regional diversification and, within asset classes, blending managers adopting a range of different investment styles can enhance risk-adjusted returns and reduce the volatility in client outcomes. After some years of a narrowly driven stock market, consistent with empirical evidence over longer time periods, prudent diversification is once again your friend.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 5th August 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Record-Breaking Rotations
Written by Cormac Nevin
Equity markets were broadly down across the globe last week, with the MSCI All Country World Index of global shares retreating -1.6% in GBP. While each of the major markets we track were negative, there was a wide degree of dispersion in returns, with the Chinese market down -4.3%, as measured by the MSCI China, the US market down -1.4%, as measured by the S&P 500, and the Japanese market down -0.6%, as measured by the MSCI Japan, all in GBP terms.
Under the surface of the headline market return, we have witnessed an extraordinary change in the type of stocks which have been driving returns versus those which have been retreating. Market leadership has shifted very abruptly from mega-cap US technology giants (often referred to as the “magnificent seven”) which have dominated returns in recent years, to previously neglected small-cap names which tend to be more sensitive to interest rates and economic growth. Over the 10 days to 19th July 2024, the Russell 2000 Index of smaller U.S. companies outperformed the NASDAQ 100 Index of large-cap tech titans by over +12%. This was the largest such movement between the two types of stocks we have seen since the bursting of the tech bubble in the early 2000s.
A number of plausible catalysts were given by market commentators for this rotation of market winners. Inflation data in the US and globally has continued to come in weaker than anticipated, while economic strength has also undershot expectations. This is viewed as giving central banks a green light to begin cutting interest rates, which is more beneficial for relatively highly indebted small-cap companies vs their cash-rich larger peers. The sharp increase in market probabilities of Donald Trump becoming the new US President is also another potential driver. He has floated the idea of taking US corporate tax rates down to 15%, which again would benefit more domestically-oriented small-caps vs larger companies who can use aggressive international tax planning to shift the burden overseas.
Whatever the future holds, the events of recent weeks have nicely illustrated the benefit of maintaining a highly diverse set of exposures to benefit from changes in leadership, rather than solely relying on index exposures which will naturally be concentrated on past winners.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 22nd July 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Downside Surprise
Written by Ashwin Gurung
Downside Surprise in US inflation sees US small-cap stocks outshine US large-cap stocks.
In June, the US headline inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell by -0.1% month-over-month, lower than the expected increase of +0.1%. While the rate of inflation has been gradually declining since the end of 2022, this marks the first instance of deflation, where prices fell, with the last decline occurring in May 2020. Similarly, core inflation, which excludes the most volatile components of the index such as food and energy costs, came in below expectations of +0.2%, rising by +0.1%.
In contrast, Friday’s Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which measures changes in prices received by producers, rose by +0.2% month-over-month in June, exceeding expectations of +0.1%. Despite this upside surprise, the market showed little reaction, likely due to its minimal impact alongside surprising deflation numbers. While a rising PPI alongside a falling CPI could mean businesses are absorbing costs, prolonged differences might signal potential future inflation if producer costs are eventually passed on to consumers. Having said that, it is important to look at other economic indicators to understand the broader picture.
Nonetheless, the US small-cap stocks cheered the downside surprise in US inflation, as the cooling increased expectations that the Fed might begin cutting interest rates in September. The Russell 2000 Index, which measures the performance of approximately 2000 of the smallest publicly traded companies in the Russell Index, gained +4.4% in GBP terms last week, significantly outperforming the tech-biased Nasdaq 100 which fell -1.8% in GBP terms over the week.
This is a significant shift from the past few years, during which small-cap stocks have struggled due to high interest rates and borrowing costs, while strong US equity index returns have mainly been driven by large AI-focused tech stocks. This rally suggests that returns may be broadening across different market caps, and a possible shift towards small-cap stocks could be on the horizon. Regardless of the market trends, we maintain diversification across various asset classes and market caps, enabling us to capture opportunities while managing risk effectively.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 15th July 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - Labour’s Landslide
Written by Dominic Williams
Labour wins big, as markets remain calm, but challenges lie on the road ahead.
The predictions of Labour’s landslide victory materialised in the early hours of Friday morning, with the party winning 412 seats out of 650 in the House of Commons. The victory did not come as a shock, given that polls in the run-up to the election had predicted this outcome. Although Labour’s national vote share has barely changed since the 2019 election, increased support from Scotland boosted their seat count, as Labour took seats from the SNP. This victory gives Labour a strong mandate to move forward with their pledges. It is expected that they will remain fiscally disciplined, initially adopting the Conservatives' fiscal rules to reduce debt in the medium term, with a focus on growth to boost GDP. There may be a need for the new government to borrow for some of their plans, however markets may be more favourable to them than to the Tories, given the expected increased stability of the government remaining intact.
The expected win has been welcomed by markets, with the more domestically focused FTSE 250 increasing by +0.9% over the day on Friday. The broader FTSE All Share index rounded off the week rising by +0.8%. Government borrowing costs did not move much on Friday after the results, with 10-year gilt yields slightly dropping from 4.18% to 4.14%. Early gains from the election result were seen in housebuilding stocks, as it is expected that Labour will use their strong political capital in their first few days in power to announce planning reforms. The first true test for the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will be her first budget, which will be presented in early autumn. This will show markets where her commitments lie, whether there will be an increase in taxes not mentioned in the manifesto, and if there are plans for further government borrowing or public sector cuts.
France’s first round of parliamentary elections concluded with Marine Le Pen’s right-wing party, Rassemblement National (RN), declaring victory. This left the country’s left-wing and centrist parties rallying together to try to prevent RN from gaining power by withdrawing candidates to favour those more likely to succeed against their RN opponents in the second round of voting. Markets reacted positively to these moves, with the MSCI Europe ex UK index returning +0.8% over the week, in GBP terms. The tactic appears to have worked, although the situation has left no single party with a majority, resulting in a hung parliament. This result is expected to cause a period of uncertainty.
US stocks continued their positive streak, with the S&P 500 finishing the week up +0.7%, in GBP terms. On Friday, data showed that the US labour market was beginning to show signs of cooling. The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in June, surprising market expectations which had forecast the rate to remain unchanged from the month before at 4%. The Federal Reserve (the Fed) will be monitoring these numbers closely. As inflation slows down and unemployment begins to rise, these trends pave the way for the Fed to begin cutting rates.
Japan’s corporate governance reforms are benefiting Japanese companies, as the Topix, a broad-based Japanese index, hit a record high on Thursday. The index peaked at 2898.47, finishing the week up +1.3%, in GBP terms. Additionally, investors are betting on the artificial intelligence boom and the benefits it may bring to high-end Japanese manufacturers.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 7th July 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - French Uncertainty vs US Optimism
Written by Dominic Williams
The snap election in France continues to cause fear in markets.
The week ended with modest gains for US stocks, with small caps performing best, as evidenced by the Russell 2000, an index composed of 2000 small cap companies, gaining +1.6%, in GBP terms. Additionally, the Technology sector continued to perform strongly, and growth stocks outperformed their value counterparts. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index finished the week up +0.2%.
The US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE Index) showed that prices paid by consumers, excluding food and energy, rose by +0.1% in May. This is a deceleration from April’s upwardly revised figure of +0.3%. The Core PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, and this deceleration suggests a potential path towards an interest rate cut in September.
Political uncertainty persists in France following Emmanuel Macron's snap election call. Both the far-right and far-left are in the lead in the polls, proposing policies to reverse Macron’s fiscal reforms, some of which include populist ideas conflicting with EU fiscal rules. Despite Le Pen's party scaling back on costly proposals such as delaying the reversal of Macron’s pension reforms, many unfunded policies remain, raising concerns over fiscal responsibility. A parliament dominated by extreme parties could lead to political gridlock, intensifying uncertainty and instability. Markets responded negatively, with the MSCI Europe ex-UK falling by -0.7% in GBP terms over the week.
In Japan, markets rose over the week. The MSCI Japan Index rose by +0.5% in GBP terms. The continued weakness of the yen supported export-heavy industries. While there were expectations of official intervention to stabilise the yen, only verbal reassurances were provided. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki stated that authorities were “deeply concerned” about the impacts of “rapid and one-sided” currency movements. Suzuki affirmed the view that excessive volatility in the currency market is undesirable and that authorities would respond appropriately.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 1st July 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - A broken record on market concentration
Written by Cormac Nevin
While we run the risk of sounding like a broken record by highlighting the extreme concentration on display in U.S and Global Equity indices, we think that the consequences are too profound for investors to ignore.
Last week witnessed Nvidia, the current darling of U.S equity markets benefiting from the AI infrastructure build-out, surge to become the world’s most valuable listed company. Nvidia’s market capitalisation (the value of all its outstanding shares) briefly eclipsed that of Microsoft on Wednesday before retreating on Thursday. Since 31st December 2022, Nvidia’s market cap has risen by $2.77 trillion (for context, the size of the UK economy is $2.74 trillion). The top five stocks in the S&P 500 Index by weight now constitute a record 27.1% of the Index as of May 2024. For context, this was 16% in August 2018 and only reached 18% at the height of the 2000s dot.com mania. Stock market indices are demonstrating radically reduced levels of diversification.
Such extraordinary share price moves are increasingly consequential in the context of markets now dominated by “passive” investors who only seek to replicate an index and will automatically buy more and more of a given stock as its market cap increases, creating a self-reinforcing dynamic which propels it higher. Over the last month, the largest purchasers of Nvidia stock have been index-tracking marketing participants in the form of Vanguard and BlackRock/iShares, while insiders such as the CEO, Jensen Huang, have been sellers.
The phenomenon of market capitalisation-weighted indices becoming dominated by fewer and fewer stocks is not just limited to the U.S markets. It can also be observed in global equity markets such as the MSCI World Index, which in turn have become dominated by the large U.S names which reduce geographic and sector diversification. For the year to date, the market cap-weighted MSCI World Index has outperformed its Equal Weighted equivalent by +12.9% vs +3.9%. As we have highlighted in the past, the MSCI World Momentum Index is now up a stunning +26.9% as the past winners keep winning!
Under these conditions of extreme concentration and momentum, we think it is exceptionally important to participate in the upside while maintaining our approach of diversification across geographies, across the market cap spectrum and with actively controlled allocations. These sorts of dynamics have a habit of reversing very violently after the last dollar of FOMO flows has been spent.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 24th June 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.
The World In A Week - A cut above the rest?
Written by Millan Chauhan
Last week, Jay Powell delivered his speech at the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Chairman Powell acknowledged that the “upside risks to inflation have diminished and the downside risks to employment have increased” and stated that the “time has come for policy to adjust”, indicating that policymakers would look to cut interest rates at their next meeting in September.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of an interest rate cut is now 100% but the magnitude of the rate cut still remains in contention. The probability of a 25 basis points cut currently stands at 70% and the probability of a 50 basis points cut is at 30%. One of the major risks that remain is the speed at which future interest rate cuts are implemented. Whilst a 25 basis points is almost certain, the probability of a 50 basis points rate cut has risen substantially following Chairman Powell’s statement. The Fed’s preferred inflation metric which is the personal consumption expenditures index is expected to be released this Friday, with expectations of the core measure at 2.7%, on a year-over-year basis.
We also saw the release of the Fed’s meeting minutes which stated that the vast majority of participants expecting a September rate cut and that some officials preferred a July rate cut following weaker jobs data releases.
Following Chairman Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole on Friday, the likelihood of an interest rate cut increased which was a tailwind for smaller-capitalised stocks with the Russell 2000 index ending the week +1.3%, outperforming the S&P 500 index (larger-capitalised stocks), which returned -0.8% last week, both of which are in GBP terms.
In Europe, we saw business activity rise in August with the first estimate of the HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index coming in at 51.2, up from 50.2. The Paris Olympics was a major driver for the services sector however manufacturing production fell for the 17th month running. The governors of the Bank of Finland and the Bank of Italy commented that the case for the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates further in September has strengthened. Expectations now point towards two further rate cuts this calendar year. In July, the ECB voted to keep interest rates unchanged, but they were concerned about restricting future economic growth prospects.
Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.
The information contained in this document is not to be regarded as an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, any investments or products.
The content of this document is for information only. It is advisable that you discuss your personal financial circumstances with a financial adviser before undertaking any investments.
All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete. Unless otherwise specified all information is produced as of 27th August 2024.
© 2024 YOU Asset Management. All rights reserved.