This week’s Market Review- In the US last week we saw equites rebound on Monday following on from the worst weekly performance of 2024, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East eased. GDP growth rate figures and PCE price index data were released with GDP growing at an annualised rate of 1.6% in Q1 2024. In Europe, it was a positive week for the Eurozone economy, with overall business activity expanding at its fastest rate in 11 months. In the UK, the FTSE100 reached a new record high last week thanks to Anglo American shares rising 15.7% and Astrazeneca rising 5.8% after positive earnings. In Ireland, the Department of Finance published its April Economic update. While overall growth is expected to increase at a slower rate, a general Government surplus of €8.6bn is projected for 2024. In Asia-Pacific, ByteDance, the owners of TikTok, the global video sharing platform, has less than 270 days to divest its ownership of the app, or face having the app banned in the United States.
