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the credit.The energy sector was helped by the
sharp oil price rise of late 2016, but received a boost
from the election of DonaldTrump, who has vowed
to deregulateAmerica’s energy sector and make it
extract oil and coal alike. Non-US oil majors also
had a good quarter, among them BP, Shell andTotal.
The nancial sector also received a double dose
of help.The new president pledged to dismantle
recent banking regulations.Moreover, expectations
of higher interest rates rose – bank pro tability
should bene t. Having raised rates last December,
the Fed o ered a further rise in March, and indicated
two more to come later in the year.
The Fed may well be blazing a trail for central
banks elsewhere, too. In the UK, in ation reached
Thequarterly report
26
|
THE INVESTOR
The continued global economic recovery was more
than matched by equity markets, while politics
remained the wild card, reports CIO Chris Ralph
THE INVESTOR CENTRE
I
nvestors could take considerable delight in
the trajectory of the global economy in the
rst three months of 2017. Figures released
in February showed healthy progress across
leading economies, as global growth gained
momentum on the previous year.Among the major
economies, Germany led the way, followed by the
UK, the eurozone and the US.
In 2016 there had been concerns that the growth
rate might prove unsustainable, given the lag in
corporate earnings during the rst three quarters.
Yet the new year brought much-improved US
company results too, suggesting that the private
sector is generating the growth, as it should do.
Policies, or promises thereof, could take some of
Opposing forces
Chris Ralph
Chief Investment O cer,St.James’s Place
Getty Images, Masao Yamazaki
IN THE FIRST
QUARTER OF
2017
The FTSE 100
rose by
3.7
%
Eurofirst 300
rose by
6.1
%
Japanese Nikkei
fell by
1.1
%