The U.S. Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting in September. Or that, at least, is the consensus of the markets. According to the FedWatch tool from CMEGroup, the likelihood that the Fed will reduce the official range from 4.25-4.50% to 4.00-4.25% is around 90%.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, and focusing on equities, which regions and sectors have shown the greatest strength?
Javier de Berenguer Viota, analyst and fund selector at MAPFRE Inversión, explores whether it's possible to anticipate movements in the U.S. dollar—and whether tools like currency hedging make sense in this context.
At this time of year, the corporate earnings season begins around the world. Listed companies take stock of how the first half of the year has gone, so it will be a good time to see the effect of the economic environment, which in this period has been marked by trade tensions and US tariffs, and all the collateral effects derived from them.
At the end of the second quarter of this year, it is safe to say that the financial markets have once again been operating with apparent normality.
The US administration has once again postponed the truce for the tariffs that expired on Wednesday, thus prolonging a situation of global concern that has not only consequences on the stock markets, but also on the real economy.
The countdown to July 9 has begun, which is the deadline set by US President Donald Trump to finalize trade agreements.
Despite an international context marked by geopolitical conflicts, which have worsened this week with the escalation between Israel and Iran, financial markets have maintained a positive trend in recent months.
The United States Federal Reserve (the Fed) once again kept the benchmark interest rates in the 4.25%-4.50% range for the fourth consecutive time.