Hello,
Global equity markets finished the first full week of 2026 on the front foot. Performance was led by aerospace and defence names amid expectations for greater US defence spending. In a social media post on Wednesday, US President Trump proposed lifting the US military budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. This came after the US military operation in Venezuela, which added volatility to gold and oil. Both finished the week up 4.8% and 3.9% respectively in euro terms.
There was a string of US labour market releases to digest. JOLTS job openings fell from 7.45 million to 7.15 million in November, their lowest since September 2024. Non-farm payrolls added 50,000 jobs in December, below the 60,000 expected, although the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked down to 4.4% from 4.5%.
In Europe, flash estimates of German and French inflation for December both came in below projections, at 2.0% and 0.8% respectively. The Eurozone inflation rate fell from 2.1% to 2.0%, in line with consensus. The November unemployment rate for the bloc unexpectedly eased to 6.3% from 6.4%.
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Smart Financial Insurance Limited trading as Smart Financial is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
