Equity markets were mixed last week as markets struggled to gain traction amid a flow of (mostly) worrying news. There was the worsening second wave of Covid-19 in Europe and the announcement of tighter restrictions on socialising in the UK. Then, a potential hitch with the AstraZeneca vaccine, added to increasing worries of a no-deal Brexit. On the financial front, perhaps the most remarkable development was the 3.5% fall in sterling which likely helped the FTSE100 outperform its international peers over the past week.

Global markets fell last week as the result of a sell-off in technology stocks, which were arguably ripe for a correction. The Nasdaq had broken through the 12,000 mark earlier in the week, less than a month after it breached 11,000 for the first time, before falling on Thursday and Friday.

Global share markets mostly rose over the past week, driven by growing signs of an economic recovery, positive news on coronavirus developments, and the US Federal Reserve’s shift on inflation targeting.

Global markets were mixed last week, but it didn’t prevent the S&P500 reaching an all-time high on Tuesday – wiping out its coronavirus-induced losses. It is a swift reversal of fortunes for America’s main stock market, which in March was forced to halt trading to prevent a crash as investors reacted to the outbreak of the global pandemic. Several speedy rallies, driven by the performance of mega-cap technology stocks dubbed the FAANGs, have since catapulted the index to a record level.

Global equity markets pushed higher for most of last week on positive economic data, before an ugly session on Friday erased most of the gains. Markets dropped in the UK and Europe as France was added to the quarantine list, which hit travel stocks hard. Prior to that, the Nasdaq hit a new record high, as did the gold price, while the S&P500 briefly surpassed the record high it set back in February before closing slightly lower.

Global equity markets largely pushed higher this week on positive economic data. The Nasdaq hit a new record high, as did the gold price, while the S&P500 is now less than 1% below its February peak of 3386. Global purchasing managers’ indices, which are used as a way of measuring how businesses are performing, showed improvements in most regions suggesting we are on the road to recovery.