• Last week was a good one for equities with data on balance more positive, trade talks seemingly going in the right direction, an election finally called in the UK and a Federal Reserve rate cut.
• The S&P 500 advanced 1.5% with semiconductors leading gains, whilst the Nasdaq gained 1.7% to a new record.
• The Fed cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point but chair Jerome Powell indicated that the bar to further action had been raised.
• October’s US employment data suggests the job market remains strong. Inflation data was weaker than expected.
• In Europe, preliminary data showed overall growth during the third quarter, but Germany’s GDP growth was flat. There is a possibility that subsequent estimates of GDP will show Germany has slipped into a technical recession.
• UK news is dominated by pre-election campaigning. There was evidence of inventory build-up ahead of the 31 October Brexit deadline, which may impact on future GDP numbers.

Week ahead

• The US corporate earnings season continues with companies such as Uber, Disney and Qualcomm reporting their third quarter numbers.
• To date 359 of the S&P 500 index companies have reported, with over 60% of those reporting beating consensus revenue estimates and 80% beating consensus earnings.