World stock markets hit six-month high, amid 'melt-up' talk – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including a new healthcheck on Britain’s buildersGlobal stock markets hit six-month highUK construction sector shrank in MarchBrexit woes weigh on sterlingAnalysts: general election risk 2.36pm BST Emiel van den Heiligenberg, the head of asset allocation at Legal & General Investment Management, has an interesting theory — markets could poised for a ‘melt-up’.That means a sharp surge higher in stock prices, adding tens of billions of pounds, dollars, euros and yen onto market values (the opposite of a meltdown). 2.09pm BST It’s been remarkably hard to lose money in the markets in recent weeks.Investors should be sitting on profits whether they bought bonds, the US stock market, emerging market shares, or commodities 50 trading days ago, points out Mike Bird of the Wall Street Journal.Buoyant equity markets currently don’t reflect the growth worries that the Federal Reserve has. Earnings expectations for S&P 500 companies have risen so far this year rather than falling as they did in previous wobbles.The balancing act could be difficult to maintain. Weaker-than-expected economic data would sour the outlook for corporate earnings, and without actually cutting interest rates the Fed now has little room to soothe investors. Stronger-than-expected economic data, on the other hand, could force the Fed to reverse its guidance and spoil the bond-market rally.Beware the market where everything goes up https://t.co/haK5ETeZbV pic.twitter.com/YLgFjn0Fit Continue reading…
Via: World stock markets hit six-month high, amid 'melt-up' talk – business live