YOU AM market commentary: April

April was a strong month for stock markets, despite the backdrop remaining far from straightforward. The situation in the Middle East was unresolved throughout the month, and oil prices continued to trade at elevated levels – indeed, energy prices climbed further towards the end of April as concerns over supply disruption persisted. Even so, global stock markets rose +6.6% over the month, making up for the falls seen in March, and are now up +5.3% for the year so far. Government bond markets were a little weaker, as ongoing energy-price pressure kept inflation worries alive.

The biggest winners were stock markets in developing countries (often called ’emerging markets’), which rose +13.3% as a group. Korea and Taiwan – two of the markets that had fallen most heavily in March – led the rebound. Taiwan, in particular, rose by an extraordinary +25%, helped by renewed enthusiasm for technology companies linked to artificial intelligence. China rose +2.6%, and India rebounded +7.5%, even though India typically has to contend with the headwind of higher oil prices given its reliance on energy imports.

Among developed countries, the US led the way. The S&P 500 (the index of America’s 500 biggest companies) rose +6.8%, and the technology-heavy NASDAQ rose +11.9%. Japanese shares rose +5.7%, and European shares +3.6%. The UK was something of a laggard, with the FTSE All-Share up just +1.2%. Although large oil companies like BP and Shell continued to benefit from elevated energy prices towards the end of the month, this was not enough to offset weakness elsewhere as investors rotated back into more economically sensitive areas of the market.

All performance figures are stated in Sterling terms unless otherwise specified.

Any opinions stated are honestly held but are not guaranteed and should not be relied upon.  

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All the data contained in the communication is believed to be reliable but may be inaccurate or incomplete.