July Monthly Market Review

An excerpt from our July Monthly Market Review: Moderating inflation and the prospect of less restrictive central bank policies sent global equity markets higher in July. In the U.S., the rally by small cap and value stocks was especially striking. Global bond markets also rose across the credit spectrum, with longer maturity bonds enjoying the largest gains. The Bank of England reduced its policy rate on August 1, joining Bank of Canada and the ECB in adopting a less restrictive monetary stance. The FOMC, for its part, took the opportunity of its July meeting to all but commit to a September rate cut. The Bank of Japan, in contrast, raised its policy rate to 25 basis points and announced a slower pace of asset purchases. Hopes that a decades-long deflation was finally over and a desire to end the steep slide of the yen spurred the BoJ to action. The yen responded favorably, gaining nearly 7% against the dollar. Reduced demand from a slowing Chinese economy sent oil and other commodity prices lower. The drop in copper prices was especially steep.

Click here to download our latest Monthly Market Review.

Click here to view Market Commentary Reports.