Last week there were a lot of mixed messages, which combined resulted in a roller-coaster week with most major global equity markets experiencing a mix of positive and negative days. Overall, most global equity markets fell slightly on the week.
Positive
Coronavirus cases in Spain and Italy appear to be flattening with hopes that the pandemic in these two countries may be reaching a plateau
Energy stocks bounced back during the week on signs that Saudi Arabia and Russia may end an oil feud which saw the price of oil increase by more than 20% on Wednesday (1 April), the biggest one-day leap on record
Negatives
Coronavirus cases in United States are increasing rapidly
The economic impact is being felt with corporate earnings estimates being slashed and dividends expected to be 40% lower this year
Weekly performance up Number of positive Number of negative
to 3 April 2020 days during the week days during the week
FTSE 100 (UK) -1.7% 3 days 2 days
Dow 30 (US) -2.7% 2 days 3 days
Euro Stoxx 50 -2.4% 3 days 2 days
(Europe)
Nikkei 225 -8.1% 1 day 4 days
(Japan)
It was a similarly mixed story for £ Sterling last week.
Against the US Dollar, it closed the week at 1.23 US Dollars, which was 1.6% lower than the figure at the end of the previous week (27 March).
Against the Euro, £ Sterling closed on 3 April at 1.13 Euros, which was 1.5% higher than the closing figure on 27 March.
There were no updated inflation figures, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH). It was 1.7% in February 2020 (this is February’s data which is reported in March). This was 0.1% lower than the previous month. The 12-month rate for the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate which excludes owner occupied housing costs and council tax was also 1.7% in February, also down from 1.8% in January.
There were no further changes to the Bank of England base rate last week following the two previous cuts in March. The current rate remains at 0.1%.
The Omnis Managed funds, Openwork Graphene Model Portfolios and Omnis Managed Portfolio Service provide you with a diversified asset allocation in line with your Attitude to Risk, investing in Developed Market Equities, such as UK, US, Europe and Asia Pacific as well as Emerging Market equities. Cautious and Balanced investors will also have significant holdings in UK and Global Bonds, as well as Alternative Strategies.
We believe this multi-asset approach aims to minimise global equity market falls in volatile periods.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations. You may not get back the amount you originally invested.
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