8th October 2014 - Global Markets React to IMF Ratings and Geo-Political Tensions

Oct. 8, 2014 - PRLog -- Stock Port Associates is one of the world’s largest and most established offshore investment firms operating within a tax-favorable jurisdiction. Whether it’s dealing with new regulations, setting up an offshore presence, attracting new investors or identifying independent directors, we have the expertise to assist you.

8th October 2014 - Global Markets React to IMF Ratings and Geo-Political Tensions

Major Indexes:

FTSE 100          6,495.58 (-1.04%)

Dax         9,086.21 (-1.34%)

CAC40          4,209.14 (-1.81%)          Nikkei    15,608.91 (-1.11%)

Hang Seng          23,275.81 (-0.63%)          Dow       16,719.39 (-1.60%)

NASDAQ          4,385.20 (-1.56%)          S&P         1,935.10 (-1.51%)

Yesterday saw a sea of red for the major indexes as news that the IMF was downgrading its forecasts for global growth and geo-political tensions finally appeared to make an impact on investor sentiment.

As the troubles in the Eastern Ukraine and Middle East continue to get progressively worse investors are starting to take notice of the economic impact these issues are placing on several economies and this is being seen by the reaction to in the markets.

Yesterday the IMF announced its latest round of forecast for global and individual countries alike. With very few exceptions the IMF has downgraded the majority of economies over the course of 2014 and 2015.

Globally, growth is expected to reduce just marginally by 0.1% to 3.3% according to the International Monetary Fund. 2015 is seen to drop by twice as much to 3.8%. The IMF has said that the 'Weak and uneven' growth can be mainly attributed to poor performances within the Eurozone, Japan and the tension seen all over the Middle East and within Eastern Europe, specifically the Ukraine.

In Europe, Germany, France and Italy have all seen their forecasts downgraded due to their current lack of expansion in many of their key areas. Japan has seen its target drop to 0.9% largely due to their sales tax increase earlier in the year.

Two countries of significance were the UK and US. Although it wasn't revised higher, growth in the UK is expected to be in the region of 3.2% and for 2015 2.7%. The strong growth in the UK service sector has helped balance out their results. In the US the main reason for a poorer than expected target is due to the inclement weather seen at the beginning of the year. Growth pegged at 2.2% for 2014 in an increase on last month's forecast however many feel that should interest rates stay low until later next year that figure has the potential to be much higher.

It is possible that the US earning season may stem the flow of capital from the  markets we have seen since the start of this week, especially as the past 3 months have seen the price of oil hit lows not seen since 2012.

Stock Port Associates (SPA) is one of the world’s largest and most established offshore investment firms operating solely within a tax-favorable jurisdiction. SPA employs seasoned market professionals with expertise in all asset classes with access to all major markets. To find out more please visit http://www.stockportassociates.com for more information or contact info@stockportassociates.com to be contacted by one of our representatives.

DISCLAIMER  The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this service are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Stock Port Associates.All market data within this release is for your general information and enjoys indicative status only. Stock Port Associates does not accept any responsibility for its accuracy or for any use to which it may be put. All share prices and market indexes delayed at least 15 minutes. 52 week high and low values are calculated from close price data.