Market Overview : May 2023

Surprises… positive but cautious · 8 May 2023

Investor optimism strengthened during the month despite the violent shocks generated by the banking system. The hope that the United States is approaching the end of the rate hike cycle is probably the main reason, despite inflation that seems to be settling in for a long time. Most asset classes thus continued their recovery, led by equities and bonds. Macroeconomic data continues to send ambiguous messages to investors. Overall growth is slowing, but remains robust. If this is unexpected in the United States, it is disconcerting in Europe. A year ago, the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine was to generate a recession. But growth remained positive thanks to an "unusually" warm winter. It remains the region that produced the best performance in the equity markets both in April and since the start of the year. This month, only the Chinese equity market, and therefore most Asian markets, pushed stock indices down. However, China announced annualized growth close to 5%. It is spectacular in absolute terms, but weak compared to the rebounds recorded in Europe and the United States at the end of the confinements. This potentially frustrated investors, explaining the region's stock performance. It should be noted that Chinese growth is increasingly based on consumption, moving away from an economy based mainly on raw materials and real estate. 

Market Overview : May 2023 Survol des marchés - mai 2023