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The IndeX Files – 31-03-2020
Central Bank Easing Supports Markets Global equities benchmarks have seen broad buying across recent sessions with many indices still holding near the top of last week’s rally. Investors finally found some comfort in the vast swathe of central bank easing announced over March, allowing equities prices to recover some of the steep losses suffered over […]
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Fed Asks BlackRock To Help With QE
Fed Pulling Out All The Stops As part of its efforts to help support the American economy during the economic distortion created by COVID-19, the Federal Reserve has asked the world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock Inc, to oversee several of the QE programmes recently announced. The New York Fed announced on Tuesday that BlackRock will […]
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The IndeX Files 17-03-2020
Equities Sink Despite Central Bank Action Global benchmark equities prices continue to trade wildly amidst a backdrop of increasing central bank action. This week, the Federal Reserve once again announced an unexpected rate cut, dropping the US interest rate by 100 basis points to 0%. Along with the rate cut, the Fed also outlined an […]
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The IndeX Files 25-02-2020
Fresh COVID-19 Fears Sink Equities Benchmark global equities indices have seen a severe shift in sentiment this week. With many indices beginning to track lower into the end of last week, an escalation in concerns over the scale and impact of COVID-19 has seen indices gapping lower at the start of this week, with selling […]
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The IndeX Files 18-02-2020
US & European Equities Rally, UK & Asian Equities Fall Global benchmark equities indices remain in stead demand this week for the most part. US and European equities are leading the pack, with a little selling pressure in UK assets as a result of a firmer British Pound recently. The corona-virus episode which has dominated […]
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The IndeX Files 11-02-2020
Corona-Virus Continues To Dictate Asset Price Moves Ongoing developments within the corona-virus outbreak continue to dominate action in benchmark global equities indices this week. Early optimism regarding the prospect of a potential vaccine helped fuel a wave of buying across high yielding assets last week, however, this move was short-lived and has seen further reversal […]
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Market Cheers Trump’s Impeachment Acquittal
Trump Retains Presidency The historic impeachment trial against Donald Trump, only the third of its kind to be brought against a US president, concluded yesterday with the president being acquitted on both articles. Such an outcome, while disappointing for some, is not a shock given that the Senate is controlled by Trump’s Republican party, meaning […]
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The IndeX Files 14-01-2020
Attention Turning Back Towards US-Sino Trade Deal Global benchmark equities indices have seen a pause in their recent upward trajectory though are consolidating near highs, suggesting a continuation higher is coming. The most notable themes for asset markets currently are those of reduced geopolitical risks linked to US-Iran tensions as well as the favourable backdrop […]
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Key Takeaways From Trump’s UN Speech
China & Iran In The Firing Line Despite the next round of trade talks being just under two weeks away, President Trump didn’t shy away from attacking his long-term rivals during his speech to the UN this week. Commenting on issues which he has long campaigned against during his presidency, Trump told the audience: “Not […]
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The IndeX Files 24-09-2019
Risk Markets Looking for Fresh Drivers Global benchmark indexes remain muted following the September FOMC meeting. Policymakers, led by Fed chair Powell, announced a 25-basis point reduction in the headline cash rate, the second only rate cut in a decade. However, the voting split has seen reduced pricing for further rate cuts this year with […]
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The IndeX Files 17-09-2019
Risks Remain Amidst Positive Backdrop The fundamental backdrop for equities remains supportive in the near term though benchmarks in the US, Europe, Asia and the UK have seen a pause in momentum so far this week. The announcement of a new range of easing measures from the ECB at its meeting this month has helped […]
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Gold Crashes on Trade Tariff Delay Announcement
Fresh Trade Announcement We saw another period of volatility in the markets yesterday as traders reacted to news of a change in US trade policy. Following Trump’s recent announcement of a fresh set of 10% trade tariffs due to be applied to a further $300 billion of Chinese goods, starting September 1st, US Trade Representative […]
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The IndeX Files 13-08-19
Trade Wars & Brexit It’s been a very volatile period for the equities markets recently. Last week we saw heavy losses across the board as the market responded to news of rising tensions between the US and China. Following the US’s announcement of a fresh set of trade tariff to be applied to China, China […]