In this week’s Market Review- In the US, estimated GDP data for the first quarter of 2024 was released last week. The US economy grew by an annualised 1.3% in the first quarter of 2024.For the week, the S&P500 finished 0.27% lower while the NASDAQ closed 0.43% lower. In Europe, inflation data for some of the EU’s major economies was released last week. For the Euro Area itself, inflation rose to 2.6%, the first annualised rise in inflation for five months. In the UK, house prices returned to growth in May, spurred on by increasing consumer confidence. For the week, the Eurostoxx50 and Eurostoxx600 both closed lower. In Ireland research carried out on behalf of Google Ireland reported that if fully adopted, Generative AI has the potential to increase the size of the Irish Economy by between €40bn to €45bn over the next ten years. In Asia-Pacific news, a fundraising round targeted at the semiconductor industry in China raised the equivalent of $47bn. The chip war between China and the US has intensified in recent weeks, with the US doubling the import tariffs on chips from China to 50% starting in 2025.
