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In our Market Monday insights, Prosperity Investment Management examines the latest developments across the globe's biggest financial markets - providing you with all the latest information you need to know.
Government ministers are expected to scrap all remaining international travel rules currently in place in England.
Under current law, all passengers arriving in England are required to complete a passenger locator form before they reach the country.
Those who aren’t fully vaccinated are also required to take a Covid test before departure and pay for a full PCR test upon arrival.
Members of the travel industry have long campaigned for a relaxation of the rules, as the sector aims to bounce back from the devastating impact of the pandemic. The restrictions are set to end this coming Friday but it is not yet known if the United Kingdom’s devolved nations will follow suit.
Elsewhere, petrol prices are expected to drop again later in the month as global oil prices start to fall. After hitting record highs last week, surging past 160p per litre in the UK, prices are expected to stabilise in line with the global market as fears that the European Union would follow the US and Canada in banning Russian oil have eased.
In the United States, stocks moved lower over another week of extreme volatility provoked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At its intraday low for the week last Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite fell to a level that was nearly 22% below its recent peak - more than the 20% threshold that technically defines a bear market. At its low point, the S&P 500 Index was roughly 14% off its high. Consumer staples stocks underperformed as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other food and consumer manufacturers announced that they were suspending business in Russia.
Assets in Poland have been pressured by the country’s proximity to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with the National Bank of Poland deciding to raise its reference rate by 75 basis points, from 2.75% to 3.50%. Poland shares its southeastern border with western Ukraine and it has received more than 1.4 million Ukrainian refugees, according to data from the United Nations, in what has become the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II.
Japan’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 was downgraded to an annualised 4.6%, from 5.4% on a smaller rise in private demand. Nevertheless, it marked a return to growth for the economy following a contraction in the previous three-month period.
