Market Update

Global stock markets concluded the week on an upbeat note, largely attributed to diminishing inflation.
Thursday, 12 January 2023, marked a pivotal point for the week as December's US CPI inflation data was unveiled.
The results were heartening: the inflation rate decelerated from 7.1% to 6.5%. This represents the sixth consecutive monthly reduction since its peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
This trend in the US inflation suggests an impending conclusion to the ongoing US monetary tightening, which is a promising sign.
Additional data released included the US initial and ongoing jobless claims, which didn't hint at any significant shifts in the US job market. This implies that even though we might be nearing the zenith of US interest rates, the Fed officials are likely to maintain their assertive stance on rate hikes. We anticipate they might enforce a slight monetary policy tightening in their upcoming meeting on 1 February 2023.
Across the pond, the UK's economic performance showed a modest 0.1% growth in November. After observing a 0.5% increase in October, this suggests that the UK economy, though not thriving, isn't as bleak as some media outlets suggest.
Barring any major downturns in December, which will become clear once the Q4 UK GDP data emerges on 10 February 2023, the UK's economy would have witnessed growth in the last quarter of 2022. Given the contraction in Q3, this progression would prevent the UK from slipping into a technical recession, traditionally marked by two back-to-back quarters of negative growth.