Titan Wealth Weekly Market Update - Monday 17th February

Welcome to this week’s Titan International market review for the week ending 16th February 2025. 

European equities extended their outperformance against their US counterparts over the past week, as investors digested a raft of fresh corporate earnings, the latest tariff announcements from US President Donald Trump, and a hotter-than-expected US inflation print.

Headline consumer price inflation (CPI) in the US rose 0.5% month-on-month and 3.0% year-on-year in January, picking up pace from December’s readings of 0.4% and 2.9%, respectively. 

However, the rise in inflation was not confined to these components. Core inflation, which strips out the more volatile food and energy prices, ticked up to 3.3% from 3.2%, fuelled by rising costs across both goods and services. 

Meanwhile, earnings growth for the S&P 493 (excluding the so-called Magnificent 7) is showing signs of acceleration after a two-year lull. 

The UK economy eked out a modest 0.1% GDP growth rate in the final quarter of 2024, surpassing economists’ expectations after stagnating in the previous three-month period. The latest GDP figures, released on Thursday, arrived just a week after the Bank of England opted to cut its benchmark interest rate in response to a cooling inflation backdrop.

US equities closed the week with a 1.5% gain, driven by a 2.6% rise in the technology sector. 

Elsewhere, gold surged to a record high during a volatile session in metals trading on Friday, briefly touching $2,964 before paring gains in the afternoon. 

That’s all for this week’s Titan International Weekly Podcast. Thank you for listening and for further investment insights head over to titanwealthinternational.com.