Latest Irish Life weekly markets update

Key talking points include:

• Global equity markets finished lower as elevated bond yields, volatile oil prices and uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict weighed on sentiment. A weaker-than-expected US jobs report reduced expectations of a Fed rate hike, offering some support.
• This week, attention turns to Eurozone retail sales, the US ISM services PMI and the Fed's minutes, which may offer clues on the policy outlook ahead of their 28 October decision.
• The S&P 500 fell 0.3% (MTD +0.7%, YTD +12.8%), while the STOXX 600 in Europe fell 1.1% (MTD +0.8%, YTD +6.6%).