Weekly Round Up
The UK’s leading equity index, the FTSE 100, has seen some volatility this week as inflation fears persist globally. Continued rises in the US Treasury 10-year yield bond rate present major concerns for equity investors.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered the UK budget announcement on Wednesday. Whilst GDP growth estimates fell from 5.5% to 4% for 2021, the positive sentiment over the vaccine rollout and expectation that we will return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022, balanced market reaction.
UK markets recovered slightly on Friday following the tech sell-off in the US and Asia overnight on Thursday. UK oil majors, Shell and BP benefitted from rising oil prices following an OPEC meeting, up 3% this week.
US markets fell throughout the rest of the week, driven mostly by tech stocks as Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, unnerved investors on the likelihood of inflation following the recovery.
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