Week ending 12/04/2024 - Sticky US inflation, The Prospect of No-Landing & UK Equities Just Carry On

Gareth and Jeremy discuss the week in markets. US inflation is proving sticky, and it is increasingly difficult to justify cutting rates on economic grounds. The question is whether the BoE or ECB would cut ahead of the Fed. China is exporting deflation. In the UK, GDP grew more than expected in February, and the January figure was revised upwards. In UK equities, there is heightened debate and concern about whether the UK market is fit for purpose, with Shell making noises about relisting in the US. However, UK PLCs continue to carry on, retiring equity and receiving bid approaches. (This week saw an offer for Lok'n'stor and an approach for Centaur Media). However, the UK market issues are more cyclical than structural and can improve quickly on the return of liquidity. Next week's macro highlight will be the UK inflation data, with expectations for a month-on-month fall from 3.4% annualised to 3.1%. A UK set-up with rising GDP, falling inflation, and rate cuts should be positive for UK equities. Let's see.       Made possible by Progressive Equity.