St. James's Place News
Europe and the US finish the week in positive territory
Investors had two key areas to focus on last week: the eurozone and US growth. Economic data and news from the world’s two most important trading regions was best described as ‘mixed’ although some measures were slightly worse than expected. Indeed, had it not been for raised expectations of support for the European bond markets from the ECB, the final outcome might have been worse.
European markets reversed earlier losses to end flat or slightly higher; whilst on Wall Street, a strong rally on Friday enabled the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Index to end almost 2% higher on the week. Asian markets were disappointing, with Tokyo and Shanghai leading the way down but stronger commodity prices helped balance overall returns.
Also in this week's bulletin...
- Initial figures from the Office for National Statistics released last week indicated that the UK’s economic position has worsened in recent months, with output falling by 0.7% in the three months ending in June; much worse than expectations of a smaller 0.2% decline.
- Worse-than-expected GDP data was not confined to the UK as the United States Department of Commerce confirmed slowing growth in the US economy during the second quarter down to an annualised rate of 1.5%, versus its initial estimate of 2%.
- A statement from French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reasserted their commitment to preserving the euro, committing to do “everything possible to protect the eurozone”.
View this week's Market Bulletin (PDF), which contains thoughts and opinions of St. James’s Place and our range of investment managers on the key issues affecting investors.
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Reader.