Rising concerns about who will be disrupted next by rapid advances in artificial intelligence continue to weigh on parts of the markets. Investors are caught between solid corporate earnings and concerns about the strength of the US economy as consumer spending has finally caught up with consumer sentiment, and not in a good way. Investors’ focus will remain on US data this week. Afonso Borges from Fixed Income Research talks about which data releases he will be watching closely. A fast, lively breakdown of what’s moving markets — tune in!

• (00:00) - Introduction: Helen Freer, Product & Investment Content
• (00:27) - Markets wrap-up: Jan Bopp, Product & Investment Content
• (06:09) - Bond market update: Afonso Borges, Fixed Income Research
• (11:00) - Closing remarks: Helen Freer, Product & Investment Content

US stocks rose, with the S&P 500 near a record, led by technology and AI on renewed OpenAI momentum. Alphabet’s USD bond sale drew over USD 100 billion in demand, allowing it to raise USD 20 billion and tighten pricing on its 40‑year bond. The USD weakened on reports that China’s banks are advised to cut their US Treasury holdings. Europe closed higher on strong gains from UniCredit and Novo Nordisk, while Asia followed Wall Street, with regional technology at new highs and Japan hitting another record. Carsten Menke, Head of Next Generation Research, discusses the precious metals market after its record surge and subsequent pullback.

• (00:00) - Introduction: Bernadette Anderko, Product & Investment Content
• (00:34) - Markets wrap-up: Mike Rauber, Product & Investment Content
• (05:48) - Latest news on precious metals: Carsten Menke, Head of Next Generation Research
• (09:22) - Closing remarks: Bernadette Anderko, Product & Investment Content

Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi captured a historic supermajority for her Liberal Democratic Party in yesterday’s election, meaning the LDP holds two-thirds or more seats in the Lower House, and giving her the scope to pursue her fiscal agenda. The Nikkei 225 rallied 5.5% today, crossing the 57,000 threshold for the first time. Other Asian markets rallied this morning following the recovery in the US indices on Friday. Nevertheless, last week marked a rotation out of Big Tech and into smaller companies and dividend growth stocks. Gold is back up above USD 5,000 after whipsawing last week. Louis Chua, Equity Research Asia, joins the podcast today to talk about the likely impact of the Takaichi victory on Japan’s financial markets, and Mensur Pocinci, Head of Technical Analysis, provides his analysis of the moves in the IT sector and what the charts suggest might lie ahead.

• (00:00) - Introduction: Helen Freer, Product & Investment Content
• (01:14) - Markets wrap-up: Bernadette Anderko, Product & Investment Content
• (06:47) - Japan elections: Louis Chua, Equity Research Asia
• (11:56) - Technical Analysis update: Mensur Pocinci, Head of Technical Analysis
• (14:20) - Closing remarks: Helen Freer, Product & Investment Content