Although the pandemic is far from over, with cases in some areas rising to the highest levels seen since the beginning of the pandemic and the threat of a new variant always around the corner, the volatility from the pandemic seen in markets is decreasing, as investors become more accustomed to the ebbs and flows of an endemic virus.
Much investor attention has turned to China in the past year, with increased foreign capital flowing into Chinese stocks. In our view it is worthwhile looking more closely at this to see what investors are focusing on.
Initially, the emergence of the Omicron variant spooked investors and caused markets to fall.
Central banks are moving increasingly closer to raising interest rates as inflation is beginning to look less and less transitory.