Recent geopolitical tensions have had less impact on markets than many had feared. Lower energy prices have helped ease inflation concerns, while continued investment in artificial intelligence is supporting economic growth and corporate earnings.
Interest rates in 2026 are heading in the opposite direction to what money markets thought. Rates are projected to rise in the US and UK, and have already risen at the ECB. At the start of the year, US and UK rates were seen falling and ECB rates staying put.
It has been another eventful – and at times grim – year, but global equities have continued to climb the ‘wall of worry’, up by more than a tenth in dollar terms. Given we are approaching the 2026 halfway mark, we highlight five interesting stock market observations below.
The UK political landscape appears even more difficult to navigate than at the start of the year: we are on the cusp of welcoming our fifth Prime Minister, in not quite as many years.