Latest Irish Life weekly markets update

Key talking points include:

• Global equity markets shrugged off concerns about inflation and rising interest rates to end the week higher, boosted by optimism about AI.
• The S&P 500 rose 1.2% (MTD +1.5%, YTD +13.1%), while the STOXX 600 in Europe gained 0.5% (MTD -1.4%, YTD +7.9%).
• Attention turns to a busy week for economic data with US employment and inflation figures closely watched for signals about economic momentum and the path of interest rates.