Latest Irish Life weekly markets update

Key talking points include:

• Global equities moved higher in a choppy week as the S&P 500 briefly moved above the historic 7,000 level mid-week before slipping back. It was the S&P 500's eighth positive monthly result out of the past nine.
• Gold and silver delivered some of the week’s most dramatic moves. After notching their strongest eight-day rally since the Global Financial Crisis, both reversed sharply late in the week.
• The S&P 500 rose by 0.4% (MTD 1.5%, YTD 1.5%) while the Euro Stoxx 600 rose by 0.4% (MTD 3.2%, YTD 3.2%).
• This week, the ECB and Bank of England will vote on interest rates (no changes expected), we will get numbers on the US employment report, Eurozone inflation and global PMI data, while on Sunday, Japan will go to the poles to vote on their next government.