The Evelyn Partners Investment Podcast Evelyn Partners Group

Global markets are broadening out now and as equity values rise this wealth is helping to generate economic stimulus in several ways, which we explore here.

Global economic growth has been resilient while inflation has been slowing. We look at the reasons for this and why central banks are under pressure to balance growth and inflation.

In 2024, voters will go to the polls in a record 77 countries. We explore how they will impact economies and stock markets. We also consider how supply chains and shipping routes are affected following Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Equities are set to outperform bonds, boosted by company sales growth and elevated profits. Bonds, meanwhile, should benefit from interest rate cuts, which could lead to higher bond prices. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom is expected to continue in 2024, but the US stock market should broaden out beyond this sector into unloved areas like energy and small caps.

Despite global economic uncertainty, investors took comfort from an impressive set of company earnings in the third quarter of 2023. Gold has hit a high this month driven by an outbreak of optimism that US interest rates have now peaked. Equities rallied partly thanks to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom, but appetite for these stocks may not last.

In November’s episode of the Evelyn Partners Investment Podcast, Cherry Reynard and Daniel Casali look at the financial market implications of the conflict and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East. The tragic loss of innocent, civilian lives in the region is shocking and our thoughts are first and foremost with all those affected. While the impact on the financial markets has been limited, it may have longer term implications for the oil price and the green energy transition.