Monthly Income monthly commentary - February 2024

While global equities delivered robust gains in February, bond markets retreated as investors pared back expectations for interest-rate cuts in the face of stronger than expected inflation and economic data. Buoyed by the same resilient economic data, strong US company earnings numbers and a sharp bounce in Chinese equities following the latest raft of policy initiatives, global equities delivered 5%. China was the top-performing regional equity market. Its return of 9.1% boosted Asian and emerging markets. Meanwhile, US Treasuries gave up 1.3% in the face of persistent US inflation while UK gilts declined 1.2%.