Market Update from the Global CIO Office – July 2020

In June, the unrelenting appetite for risk prevailed and global stock markets continued to grind higher amid optimism for a successful reopening of major economies that are awash with central bank and government support. However, it was a turbulent month, with equity markets swinging between gains and losses as investors weighed some conflicting forces at hand. While indeed welcoming ongoing signs that the worst of the economic fallout from the pandemic is behind us and the unrelenting pledges for policy support, enthusiasm was tempered somewhat on reports of rising COVID cases across the US that prompted some states to dial back their reopening plans.