Market Overview Analysis & Opinion

Stock buyers are finding sufficient reasons to return, having struggled earlier in the session China’s rebounding exports bolstered hopes that a slowdown there has bottomed, despite another...

There’s been a clear move higher in risk assets in recent trade after the release of some data from the Far East suggests that China continues to provide ample levels of stimulus to its...

UK stocks paid out an eye-watering £100 billion in dividends last year, and the bulk of that cash came from the biggest and best known companies in the FTSE 350 - including Stagecoach.Given the...

A concerning drop in Chinese imports last month ensured another weak start in what has been a momentum-sapping week. While exports rose 14% year-on-year in March, imports tumbled 7.6%, nearly 6 times...

Forecasting recessions is hard. Just ask the IMF. Today’s chart, based on the work of Andrew Bridgen, chief economist at London-based Fathom Consulting, shows that the IMF has only managed to...

Wall Street closed flat as investors looked ahead cautiously to the start of earnings season. Whilst financial firms pushed higher on the expectation of decent figures, a more general fear that first...

US headline inflation rose to 1.9% in March. With core inflation at 2.0% and the economy near full employment, the Federal Reserve is right on target with its policy goals. Given that inflationary...

EuropeEurozone stocks are broadly higher going into the close as sentiment has rebounded. Francois Villeroy of the European Central Bank (ECB) said the euro area is slowing down, but it is not in...

There was no post-EU summit surge for sterling, the currency’s fingers burned too many times in the last few months to fully trust any developments. Up 0.1% against the dollar and flat against...

Mario Draghi’s press conference did nothing to dampen speculation that the European Central Bank (ECB) will have to loosen monetary policy again before too long. The outgoing president said on...

The high drama of a Brussels summit between the 28 EU leaders that ran late into the night failed to cause a commensurate move in the markets, with both the pound and UK stocks decidedly nonplussed at...

A long night in Brussels has ended with the UK being granted six more months to work out how – and potentially still if - it wants to leave the European Union. Although the new deadline invited...

Wall Street gained and Asian markets slipped following cautious words from central banks. A dovish ECB, milder US core inflation and a growing number of Fed policymakers who now see policy moving in...

US markets managed to close modestly higher yesterday, though some of the gains were constrained by a slightly more hawkish interpretation of the latest Fed minutes to what many in the markets had...