Gerald Fitzgerald’s Market Review January 7th
07 January 2019
LAST WEEK IN 30 SECONDS...
In similar fashion to the latter part of 2018, this year began with heightened uncertainty given the ongoing US Government shutdown, the outlook for 2019 US interest rate hikes in addition to wider uncertainty for global growth for the year ahead. However, amidst these concerns markets rose strongly on Friday following the culmination of positive US employment data, signs the US and China are willing to progress trade talks and comments by Jerome Powell that the US Fed would take market conditions into account when it comes to raising rates.
THIS WEEK IN 30 SECONDS...
US China talks take centre stage this week with both sides meeting in Beijing seeking to resolve their ongoing differences on trade. The ongoing US government shutdown continues with Donald Trump seeking funding approval for his much-publicised border wall. With 800,000 federal workers directly impacted by this impasse expect markets to get jittery the longer the stand-off between Trump and the Democrats continues.
Elsewhere, Eurozone consumer confidence and employment statistics are due for release during the week with US inflation metrics out on Friday.
2018 EURO RETURNS
As we commence a new year, I thought it in order to remind our readership of general market returns over 2018. Whilst 2018 was largely positive, the last quarter was a sting in the tail for many investors with US equities leading the global sell-off.
By Gerald Fitzgerald, Investment Consultant
Gerald Fitzgerald joined Invesco’s Investment Consulting team in 2015 and has 10 years industry experience assisting clients with their investment & actuarial requirements. Gerald is a Qualified Financial Adviser (QFA) and a graduate of both University College Cork and University College Dublin.