Weekly Market View from Realm Investment Management. Week ending 29th April 2022.
In the US the S&P 500 index was down for the seventh consecutive week – this hasn’t happened since early 2001 and preceded the first rally in that bear market. Investor’s remain concerned about inflation, the extent of coming rate hikes, slowing global growth and recession. Disappointing earnings reports from some major US retailers didn’t help.
Chairman of the US federal reserve, Jerome Powell, said that tackling inflation was an “unconditional need” and that rates would rise as necessary, even if there was “some pain involved”.
In a similar vein, ECB President, Christine Lagarde, released a blog post today in which she wrote:
“we have one important guidepost for our policy: to deliver 2% inflation over the medium term. And we will take whatever steps are needed to do so.” Analysts think this means the ECB will increase its key interest rate to zero or above by September.
In the UK, data showed that inflation surged to 9%, its highest level in forty years. At the same time the rate of unemployment fell to its lowest level since the 1970s.
Market Sentiment 20th May 2022
U.S. Risk Barometer 20th May 2022
Europe Risk Barometer 20th May 2022
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