Investment Weekly

Chart of the week – Turning tides?

There has been a trend in recent years for global stock markets to turn volatile in early August. It happened again last week, with a pick-up in trade policy uncertainty coinciding with weak US labour data, sending stocks lower. But this summer, US markets have rebounded at near-record speeds. Q2 earnings are beating expectations, and technology stocks are driving the market. Prices are within touching distance of all-time highs. For now, markets are proving resilient, but it’s worth being cautious of turning tides.