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Since the US presidential elections, US equities have been on an uptrend driven by a certain optimism, as the expectation of tax cuts and deregulation have fuelled the hope of accelerated corporate earnings growth.

European equity markets ended the last month of the year on a positive note. The positive market trend was mainly driven by rate cuts and slowing inflation over the course of 2024.

In November, European equities closed the month up. Excluding the UK, however, European equities fell marginally due to a combination of concerns about US trade policy and earnings warnings from the automotive and consumer goods sectors. Consumer weakness in China and within domestic markets was cited as the cause in both cases. A strong Financials performance supported UK equities (+2.5%).

In October, European equities closed the month lower. European headline inflation was revised down to 1.7% year-on-year in September (from the preliminary 1.8%).

Despite weak macroeconomic data (notably from Germany), European equities remained broadly flat in September, thanks to the announcement of the stimulus plan in China. However, Europe has faced the highest outflows since March 2022, to the benefit of emerging markets.

Chinese authorities have begun addressing deflationary pressures through a series of monetary and fiscal measures, signaling their growing urgency to stabilise the economy.

In August, European equities closed the month a bit higher despite some volatility.

Global equity markets reached a new all-time high in June, driven once again by the impressive performance of Technology in the US.