Weekly Kick Start | 06 November 2023
The focal point last week centered on central bank meetings. The FOMC meeting proved largely uneventful, with the Federal Reserve keeping rates unchanged as widely anticipated. In contrast, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) began shifting towards an exit from its monetary easing strategy. This significant shift has prompted us to concentrate on the BOJ’s decision in this week’s recap.
Weekly Kick Start | 30 October 2023
This week in the financial markets, strong economic data emerged from the United States, complemented by another week of tech earnings where major tech companies exceeded analysts’ estimates. Yet, when taking a broader and longer-term perspective into account, concerns of an impending recession, coupled with heightened capital expenditure (CAPEX) pressures, weighed down on stock markets.
Weekly Kick Start | 16 October 2023
This week has seen increased volatility across various asset classes, primarily due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Notable events included the release of earnings results for Netflix and Tesla, as well as the unveiling of China’s GDP growth numbers. In this week’s report, we have provided coverage of the earnings reports for these two prominent companies.
Weekly Kick Start | 16 October 2023
The past week has seen markets roiled by a surge in volatility, primarily driven by two major factors: the Israel-Hamas conflict and the release of crucial inflation data. These events had investors and analysts closely monitoring their potential impact on market dynamics. In this market week wrap, we’ll discuss the inflation numbers and its repercussions on the macroeconomic landscape.
Weekly Kick Start | 09 October 2023
After weeks of market volatility, this week brought some relief for equity investors with positive gains. Among the top concerns this week are speculation about the next steps from the Bank of Japan (BOJ), anticipation surrounding developments at FTX, and the news that ExxonMobil is closing in on a $60 billion deal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources, a move that could make it the leading U.S. oil producer.
Weekly Kick Start | 03 October 2023
With rapid developments in the financial markets, staying abreast of the financial world’s happenings is crucial. Over the past week, notable developments included Meta’s product launches and rising US Treasury yields.
Weekly Kick Start | 25 September 2023
After another action-packed week in the market, we observe systematic risks are playing a bigger role in the change in valuation of various asset classes. From the past week, notable events include the FOMC meeting and the oil market rally.
Weekly Market Wrap | 10 July 2023
Private employers in the United States added a significant number of jobs in June, surpassing expectations and indicating a robust job market. According to the private payroll supplier ADP, 497,000 new jobs were created last month, marking the largest monthly increase in over a year. The rise in hiring was primarily driven by consumer-facing service industries, with leisure and hospitality jobs contributing the most to the surge.
Weekly Market Wrap | 10 June 2023
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched lawsuits against two major cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, alleging various forms of misconduct. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, experienced a 6% drop in value upon the announcement, reaching lows of $25,440. Coinbase’s share price plummeted by 12%, prompting professional investment fund ARK Invest to purchase 400,000 shares during the dip.
Weekly Market Wrap | 29 May 2023
While the S&P 500 appears to owe its gains this year to the success of Apple and other tech giants, a closer look reveals that without the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), the index would be in negative territory. A handful of tech stocks with ambitious AI aspirations have played a significant role in driving the S&P 500’s 8% increase. Data reveals that non-AI stocks in the S&P 500 were down approximately 1% from the beginning of the year until mid-May.
