Written by Richard Warne.
It has been a gruelling start to the year for both equities and bonds, and it would be very easy to get despondent with all the negativity that persists. Topics that have and will continue to generate headlines have become familiar to us all; continued supply chain issues, inflation, rates, and the human cost of the Ukraine war. Amongst all this, there are some bright spots, though you would probably not have known it from recent share price actions. Globally, the Q1 earnings season has been remarkably strong, with 80% of US companies reporting and beating expectations. Unfortunately, even companies beating expectations and raising forward guidance have not been able to escape negative share price moves.
We did see good signs from companies like Airbnb and Booking Holdings, beating expectations into what is expected to be a busy summer for the travel sector. Though it is clearly not all plain sailing. From a macro perspective, it was concerning that the Zillow (US real estate company) forward guidance was weaker than expected on broader concerns for the housing market. Inventory levels have significantly fallen year on year, interest rates are surging, and housing affordability remains under considerable pressure with no signs of letting up.
Though we are clearly on the rate tightening path from central banks on both sides of the pond, it was encouraging to see Jerome Powell, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, potentially ruling out a 75bps rate hike in the future and remain committed to a flexible yet well-telegraphed plan for tightening.
Investing is certainly never easy; time and patience tend to be your only friends in times of shifting sands for markets. Through all the noise and volatility we are currently witnessing, this often creates good opportunities. To quote the wizard of Omaha, Warren Buffett “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”