Market Update – April 2019
Global – A booming US
United States of America Economic data emanating from the US continued to outstrip expectations resulting in significant risk-on appetite and driving equities to all-time highs. Far better than expected Q1 GDP numbers came in at 3.2% while employment numbers grew by 196,000 in March and the unemployment rate remained at 3.8%.
These factors coupled with the continuing dovish approach to interest rates on the part of the Federal Reserve kept the markets buoyant. Earnings results provided additional stimulus to the markets with technology stocks Amazon and Twitter delivering spectacular numbers. Market performance in the tech sector at month end was somewhat soured by results from Alphabet, the holding company of Google, which delivered disappointing results. The Financial sector was the best performer.
