Latest Irish Life weekly markets update

Key talking points include:

• Global markets posted their steepest weekly declines since March 2020 in response to the Trump administrations harsher-than-expected tariffs which fuelled concerns around the potential for slowing economic growth, resurgent inflation and a possible recession.
• The S&P 500 fell by 9.1% (MTD -9.9%, YTD -13.7%) while the Euro Stoxx 600 fell by 8.4% (MTD -8.0%, YTD -2.2%). 
• Volatile markets are unsettling for investors - although the S&P is down sharply this year, it is back to levels last seen one year ago. Other markets and asset classes have been more resilient this year as investors have rotated out of US equities.
• While market sell-offs make for trying times for investors, if history is a guide, buying after periods of market weakness generally improves returns as was the case post the 2020 Covid shutdown and in 2022 when interest rates rapidly rose from 0 to 5%.
• This week, focus is set to remain on tariffs but US consumer-price inflation (Thursday) and, in particular, consumer confidence (Friday) may also be of note to gauge the impact of policy uncertainty.