Last night saw a dramatic final hour 4% swing in US stock markets as European officials announced plans for a coordinated defence of the region’s banks. In addition, German finance minister Shauble stated that the country would reinstate support mechanisms put in place in 2008 to support the banks. No firm plans have been made, but markets like the idea that officials are finally getting the...
Financials were on fire, lifting global markets with them. Positive headlines
hit investors in waves, just when it looked like the recent rally off the
February lows was running out of steam.
There were genuine signs of emerging optimism in stock markets last week. Confidence has been largely absent so far in 2009, with every attempted rally squashed before it really had chance to get going. There is a growing sense that this time round things are different, and this belief will only grow further, if markets can survive the next week or so without dropping too far below last...
It was a case of two steps forward and two steps back last week for world equity markets. Global equities were served a reminder of just how difficult bear markets can be. Traders are quick to grab whatever short term profits they have made, making it difficult for rallies to build momentum. Equities shot out of the starting gate in the early part of the week, largely due to a relief rally in the...
Considering the dead weight financial sector, stock markets could have fallen a lot further than they eventually did over the course of last week. However, there’s no getting away from the mess that financial shares are in. Just over two years ago today, the RBS share price hit an all time high of £7.24. Last weeks low of just 10p highlights the markets underlying concern that the financial...
After taking some time off between Christmas and New Year, the credit crunch was well and truly back in action last week. Fears over further banking problems and sovereign debt downgrades for the likes of Ireland and Greece surfaced last month, but until now, these fears have merely been simmering in the background. Last week, the heat was once again turned up, and major fault lines are once...
The final week of 2008 passed with many markets recording their worst annual performance for generations. Equities finished above their lows, but still finished down by at least 30%. The S&P 500 closed 2008 down 38%, while the Nikkei closed down over 40%. The ‘lost decade’ rolls on ever more for the Japanese stock market. Perhaps the most remarkable performance came from commodities; at...
It was another relatively quiet week for stock markets last week as the Dow, S&P 500 and FTSE all finished relatively unchanged over the trading week. UK banks were under pressure yet again as the tide of bad news kept rising. Reports that half a million people will be in arrears on their home loans, came on top of MPC BoE deputy governor Beans comments that economic conditions were so bad...
After an opening surge on Monday, markets had a mixed time of it for the remainder of the week. President elect Barack Obama’s announcement of a huge public works program helped virtually every market rally against the main trends of the last few weeks. Equities and commodities were higher, while the dollar, bonds, and CDS levels all eased. Unfortunately the optimism didn’t last, with the...
A good summary of the past few days worldwide major financial market stories