Emerging Markets Poised for Outperformance on Earnings, Fed Support and AI Tailwinds As the year draws to a close, emerging markets are gaining attention amid a rare alignment of supportive factors. Strong earnings momentum, expectations of a more accommodative U.S. monetary policy and accelerating artificial intelligence adoption are improving the outlook for EM equities. Earnings […]

US Futures Steady Ahead of Key Data in Holiday-Thinned Trading U.S. stock futures were little changed on Tuesday following a solid start to the shortened holiday trading week. Gains on Wall Street were led by technology shares, with major indexes posting moderate advances in the prior session. AI-related stocks remained in focus as optimism around […]

Thin holiday liquidity meets AI-led U.S. bounce, BOJ shockwaves, Venezuela oil tensions, and record-breaking gold Markets enter a holiday-shortened week with thin liquidity as a key backdrop, keeping attention tightly focused on late-week U.S. data—highlighted by a GDP reading. In U.S. equities, stock index futures started higher, led by technology as renewed AI enthusiasm returned, […]

AI Power & The Yen Paradox The AI Rally Resumes: Tech Lead: Asian markets kicked off the week in the green, taking cues from Wall Street where Nvidia (+3.9%) and Broadcom (+3.2%) reignited the tech rally. Chip Spillover: The optimism spread to Asian semiconductor giants. Tokyo Electron jumped 6.7%, Advantest added 4.7%, and TSMC rose […]

BOJ Hikes to 30-Year High While Wall St Rallies on Soft CPI; Oil Slips   US Equities (Nasdaq/S&P) Wall Street rallied on December 18, driven by a tech-led rebound and a softer-than-expected November CPI print (2.7%). Micron surged on a strong AI-demand outlook, boosting the semiconductor sector. However, Reuters noted data-quality caveats regarding the CPI […]

Bank of England: A “Hawkish” Holiday Cut? The Decision: A Close Call Rate Cut: The BoE has lowered rates to 3.75%, but the move was far from a dovish victory lap. The decision was “more hawkish than expected,” causing market rates to rise and giving Sterling (GBP) a relief rally. The Split: The committee is […]

Global Markets Pause for Central Banks & Data; Commodities Soften U.S. & Global Equities Global markets are trading cautiously as investors await delayed U.S. employment data, which is expected to show a softening labor market. In a significant structural move, Nasdaq plans to seek approval to extend trading hours to 23 hours a day starting […]

Fed Delivers Third Cut, But Asia Fades on ‘Wait and See’ Signal The Federal Reserve delivered its third consecutive rate cut yesterday, but the reaction in global markets has been a “tale of two cities.” While Wall Street celebrated, Asia-Pacific markets couldn’t hold onto their early optimism. The “Hat-Trick” is Complete: As expected, the Fed […]

The Fed’s Rate Cut Hat-Trick: Why 2026 Will Be Different The “Done Deal”: Markets are pricing in a 90% chance of a third consecutive 25bp cut. However, don’t expect a unanimous decision—officials are increasingly divided, and we could see up to four members voting for a “no change” decision. The Labor Market Alarm: The “doves” […]

Market Outlook: Fed Decision Week Raises Volatility Risks Markets enter Fed week in a state of rising anxiety as investors brace for an expected 25 bp rate cut, yet face an unusually divided Federal Reserve and uncertainty over who will replace Chair Powell. While the cut itself is almost fully priced in, the real market […]