Interest-rate fears fuel market volatility

This monthly commentary gives a roundup of global markets and trends.

In this edition:

• Markets have had a volatile start to the year, with particular weakness from the technology sector
• The immediate catalyst has been fears of faster and steeper interest rate rises, following increasingly hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve
• US equities have led the decline, with a significant sell-off in the US mega caps. However, it has been a better time for value-led UK equities
• While inflation, Covid variants and geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on investor sentiment, policy easing in China may improve global growth prospects in the coming months

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