Weekly Market Review: 03rd of February 2025

In the US, the Federal Reserve held its first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting last week. As expected, there was no interest rate cut. For the week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed higher, up 0.73% and 1.31% respectively. In Europe, the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in 2025 and the fifth time in the past 12 months. In the UK, plans are being created by the Government which would see subsidies devised for electric vehicle purchases by guaranteeing consumer loans. For the week, European and UK equities closed higher despite the volatility, up between 2.36% and 2.46%. In Ireland, the Irish Government has lowered its shareholding in Irish bank AIB once again from 17.5% to 12.5%, with an expectation now that the State could exit the Bank completely by the end of 2025. In Asia Pacific, a new report published last week found that Chinese commercial banks, in tandem with private entities both inside and outside the country, issued loans totalling $57bn over 21 years in 19 countries to boost mining and processing of clean energy minerals.