Moving Markets

German inflation accelerated for the first time since December, while China PMI data releases point to a slowly healing economy and Tesla's 15% gain helps the S&P 500 close slightly higher. Japanese stocks are gaining, with the focus on yesterday's currency intervention. Samsung's profits rise on AI demand for its chips, while German carmakers report a drop in profits. Manuel Villegas, Next Ge...

Equity markets ended a volatile week on a strong note, with US markets recording their best week since November. Earnings generally boosted markets, although US inflation and activity data were worrying, and yields remained elevated. In the commodities space, M&A talks are adding some noise as miners look to increase their share of copper production. Markus Wachter from our Technical Analysis...

While central bankers in Europe are sending signals that monetary easing may be around the corner, the Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged overnight. Meanwhile in the US, stocks tumbled after data showed a sharp slowdown in economic growth and pointed to persistent inflation. The earnings season continues to make headlines, particularly the big tech companies, whilst Anglo American...

Markets have had a challenging 24 hours, with equities flat in the US but lower in Europe as bonds sold off and disappointing revenue guidance from Meta weighed particularly on the tech sector overnight. Our Head of Economics & Next Generation Research, Norbert Rücker, talks about the energy market amid geopolitical risks, and Nicolas Jordan from the CIO office talks about the impact of endoge...

While the earnings season remains in focus, yesterday’s release of PMI data from around the globe helped to assess the economic environment. Equity markets across the board posted positive gains as investors bought into the dip in tech stocks and a strong batch of corporate earnings eased concerns about higher interest rates. In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia reported a slowdown in inflation,...

Following last week’s worst selloff in a year, US equities turned a corner yesterday as the risks of a Middle East escalation appeared to ease. Investor sentiment was decidedly more risk-on as this week’s corporate earnings and economic data shifted into focus. Dario Messi, Fixed Income Strategy, discusses the impact of geopolitics on bond markets and talks about emerging market debt in the curren...

Markets are in a rallying mood this morning, with most major Asia-Pacific equity markets up on the lack of signs of further escalation in the Middle East. This follows a dismal end to the week in US trading, with the AI darlings in particular weighing on markets. And Richard Tang, our Head of Research in Hong Kong, takes us on a tour of Asia in 80 seconds and explains why Japan remains his top pic...

European and US equity index futures declined overnight as global markets were rocked by fresh conflict in the Middle East that sent stocks lower while oil and safe-haven assets are trading higher. The Fed is hammering home its patient rhetoric. And Mensur Pocinci, Head of Technical Analysis, joins the show today to tell us more about the adage 'sell in May and go away' and what to expect from equ...

US equities were lower again in yesterday’s afternoon session, with a drop in orders at European semiconductor company ASML Holdings weighing on technology stocks. US and Asian authorities are pushing back against USD strength and oil is lower on ample US supply. Stocks are in the green this Thursday morning, supported by some upbeat earnings results and comments from Christine Lagarde that Europe...

Yesterday the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signalled that policymakers will wait longer than previously anticipated to begin cutting interest rates. Nevertheless, despite the recent selloff, global equities are starting to show signs of stability. Investors are now betting on just one to two US rate cuts this year starting in July or September. Mathieu Racheter, Head of Equity Strategy,...

European markets managed to close Monday’s session higher but the same could not be said for the US, where tech stocks fared the worst. Strong US retail sales data pushed back expectations of rate cuts there until September. Concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East did little to calm jittery Asian markets and they fell further on mixed economic data from China. Norbert Rücke...

Despite global government bond yields remaining high following this week’s US inflation reports, equities staged a recovery rally into the close. And overnight, gold hit another record high, edging closer to the USD 2,400 mark each day. Tim Gagie, Head of FX/PM PB Solutions Geneva, shares his views on tuna, pianos and why he is not short the Japanese yen. 00:00 Introduction by Bernadette Anderko (...

Hotter US inflation lowered expectations of interest rate cuts. Wall Street reacted with a down day, but the weakness did not spread to European or Asian equities. However, it was government bond yields and the USD that rose sharply. Today's focus is on the ECB's rate decision – a rate cut is not expected, so the focus will be on the comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde. And the JPY is at...

Market action appears subdued as investors around the world await key US inflation data later today. Meanwhile, on a more company-specific level, ‘everything AI’ still seems to be the trend. In the Asia-Pacific region overnight, data showed that Japan’s corporate inflation rate rose for the third month in a row, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.5%....

The major US equity indices closed around flat yesterday while small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 index gaining 0.5%. The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to 4.43%, prompting investors to raise their bets on the Fed cutting rates just twice this year following last week’s jobs data upside surprise. And David Kohl, Chief Economist, provides his outlook for the future interest rate poli...

Markets had a difficult start to the second quarter last week, with the S&P 500 posting its worst weekly performance for 3 months as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices led to growing concerns about inflation. A stronger-than-expected US jobs report on Friday has led investors to continue to price in fewer Fed rate cuts, pushing yields on government bonds to key leve...

Markets took a sharp risk-off turn in late US trading yesterday. The main catalyst was rising tensions in the Middle East, with oil prices rallying above USD 90/bbl for the first time since October, which in turn added to existing fears about inflation. In Switzerland, inflation figures for March once again surprised to the downside, which put pressure on the Swiss franc. Tim Gagie, Head of FX &am...

After a cautious start to Q2, equity markets regained their stride in Wednesday’s session climbing higher across regions. The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Fed is still in wait-and-see mode when it comes to rate cuts, but markets took more comfort from the fact that he reaffirmed that the Fed is likely to cut rates this year. Our Head of Economics & Next Generation Resea...

The second quarter is off to a rocky start for global equities as sticky inflation data and strong economic figures have pushed bond yields higher and their prices lower, weighing on a stock market that has so far ignored the repricing of central bank rate cuts in recent months. The only asset currently seeing an upside seems to be commodities, with oil hitting a five-month high and gold reaching...

Strong US manufacturing data, pointing to expansion for the first time in over a year, pushed US Treasury yields higher and stocks lower, albeit in light trading. Meanwhile, gold continues to trade higher, almost on a daily basis. But Mensur Pocinci, Head of Technical Analysis, says investors should favour productive assets as momentum remains strong in many parts of the market. 00:00 Introduction...

The equity market rally is continuing ahead of the Easter break, while fixed income markets are a little less euphoric following Federal Reserve Governor Waller’s comments that recent economic data does not warrant as many interest rate cuts as expected. Carsten Menke, Head of Next Generation Research, argues that sentiment in the gold market is overly bullish. 00:00 Introduction by Helen Freer (I...

While there are still a few trading days left in the quarter, equity trading already seems to be driven by end-of-quarter positioning. Overnight in Asia, Japanese stocks rose as the yen fell to its lowest level against the US dollar in around 34 years, while the rest of Asia struggled for momentum. Dario Messi from Fixed Income Research joins the show today to discuss the Swiss National Bank's int...

Social media stocks are in the spotlight as the EU takes a closer look at their activities and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs a bill banning minors under 14 from having social media accounts. In fixed income, the US yield curve has been inverted for more than 430 trading days, the longest period on record. In Asia, the Chinese government continues its efforts to shore up confidence amid a slo...

US equities had their best week of the year, with the technology sector leading the way. Global equities were also strong. The broader risk-on sentiment was driven by relatively dovish central bank meetings on both sides of the Atlantic, including the first G10 rate cut of the cycle by the SNB. The dovish backdrop led to a sharp fall in global government bond yields. Mensur Pocinci, Head of Techni...

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) surprised markets by cutting interest rates ahead of other major central banks, sending Swiss equities higher yesterday. Equities were also higher elsewhere: in the US, all three major indices closed at record levels, and European equities also ended at new all-time highs, with UK equities seeing strong gains. Overnight in Asia, however, stock markets were mostly lowe...