Month: May 2026

Market Update: Markets making the best of it

The risks we wrote about last week keep rising. The continued US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, along with reports that the US might restart attacks, sent oil prices above $120 per barrel in midweek trading. They have since settled down to around $110pb. UK and European stocks are slightly down over the week in sterling terms, but US equities are higher again as the Friday session starts. Japan and China are flat as they begin “Golden Week” holidays, with help from a sharp rally in the Japanese Yen. In aggregate, global equities have gained slightly.