Weekly Market Update - 22 July 2024

Donald Trump Assassination Attempt

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump over the weekend has taken the sting out of Joe Biden’s efforts to reset his election campaign. Trump confirmed he would attend the Republican National Convention next week, hours after he was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. The episode has shaken up an already volatile presidential race and led to widespread condemnation of an increasingly polarized political landscape. The dollar and Bitcoin rose following the shooting, which may be a sign investors are more confident in a Trump victory.

Source: Bloomberg

Apple Sales

Apple’s annual sales in India hit a record of almost $8 billion, highlighting a rapidly growing market where the iPhone maker now assembles more of its devices. India revenue jumped about 33% in the 12 months through March from $6 billion a year earlier, sources told Bloomberg. Apple’s pricey iPhones accounted for more than half of the sales. The increase signals steady progress in Apple’s effort to win users in the world’s most populous country, whose consumers are slowly gaining more purchasing power. Apple is targeting India as a way to diversify manufacturing and revenue sources beyond the much larger market in China, which has become riskier because of trade tensions with the US.

Source: Bloomberg

ECB Less Confident

European Central Bank policymakers are increasingly wondering if they may only be able to cut interest rates once more this year. With inflation pressures still lingering, officials are becoming less confident that a path for two further reductions is realistic, and don’t want investors to assume that a move in September is a done deal, sources told Bloomberg. Policymakers’ experience of having made too strong a commitment to move in June — when they cut the ECB’s deposit rate by a quarter point to 3.75% even after an acceleration in price growth — are also motivating them to keep all options available for the upcoming decision on Sept. 12. They kept rates unchanged at their most recent gathering on Thursday.

Source: Bloomberg