In the review period flare-ups in geopolitical tensions tested the positive momentum that had characterised the first half of the year. Markets faced bouts of volatility as hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz heightened uncertainty about the inflation and monetary policy outlook. On top of that, lingering concerns about the sustainability of fiscal burdens added to the pressure. The prospects of higher rates stemming from these macroeconomic challenges compounded markets’ unease about valuations and possible overinvestment in the tech sector, disrupting the equity momentum driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Yet while investors’ risk appetite ebbed and flowed, it proved resilient on the whole. Sovereign yields extended their upward march. Monetary policy expectations fluctuated amid flare-ups in geopolitical tensions and generally benign inflation readings in the United States, but eventually rates edged higher. Investors’ uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s reaction function also contributed to higher volatility in July, especially at the front end of the yield curve […]