A research produced by
Global smaller-company equity markets ended the first quarter in positive territory and managed to reclaim the steep declines incurred earlier in the year The combination of fresh gains for oil prices, a dovish U.S. Federal Reserve Board (the “Fed”), and larger-than-expected monetary stimulus by the European Central Bank (ECB) all boosted sentiment.
The price of oil jumped back above US$40 per barrel in March for the first time this year while the Fed indicated that it would raise interest rates only twice this year as opposed to the four increases it had estimated in December. The Fed’s decision to scale back its interest-rate forecasts comes closer into line with market expectations as it flagged up risks to the U.S. economic outlook based on global factors, including plunging commodity prices, policymaking in China and concerns over weaker global economic growth.
Source : Invesco
