Q2 2015 Market Commentary

Markets broadly continued on the positive trajectory of 2015 for much of this quarter, though stuttered in the final weeks. Domestically, the UK General Election brought an unexpected victory for the Conservative Party. This result is generally perceived to be the most business-friendly outcome and gave the FTSE confidence in continuing to hover around record highs. This confidence also aided the strengthening of Sterling against several key currencies. This includes the US Dollar, which has been appreciating since last year in response to encouraging economic data. However, recent US data has been mixed in its nature, including confirmation of sluggish productivity. As a result, expectations of the first interest rate rise have been pushed back from the third quarter of 2015, with the IMF suggesting the Fed should wait until 2016. The Yen and Euro have also depreciated against Sterling as supportive monetary policy weakened the currencies, which in time could improve the growt