Latest Irish Life weekly markets update

Key talking points include:

• Global equities started the year on a positive footing with most markets recording all-time highs as investors largely looked past mounting geopolitical tensions.
• The S&P 500 rose by 1.6% (MTD 1.8%, YTD 1.8%) while the Euro Stoxx 600 rose by 2.3% (MTD 3.0%, YTD 3.0%).  
• The economic calendar is light this week but there will be inflation data from the US and Germany. Other than that, US officials will meet with counterparts from Denmark and Greenland later in the week and earnings season kicks off with results from Wall St Banks.