Market Commentary April 2016

Please find this month’s Market Commentary newsletter which contains our view on the stock market based upon fundamental and technical analysis along with some recommended investments for the current market.

The final equity index performance numbers for Q1 2016 are now in the books, and they look much less grim than seemed likely in mid-February. In the US, the S&P closed 0.8% higher, well ahead of the main Eurozone benchmarks (France -5.43%, Germany -7.2%, Spain -8.6% and Italy, clobbered by the banks, -15.4%). In the UK, the FTSE 100 finished 1.1% lower, narrowly beating the Mid 250 (-2.9%) but not the SmallCap (-1.0%). Basic materials were the biggest gainers up 18.3% followed by oil & gas up 8.0%. Financials lagged, falling 11.1%. The euro’s rally versus the US dollar, which has now reached +5%, is now providing a headwind to performance and may well weigh on European earnings momentum moving into Q2. In contrast, sterling’s weakness is providing a boost to earnings revisions in the UK.