i-Wire: Market Update 26th May   Market Update: Floor Found I’ve included the usual ‘what’s going on’ charts and tables but I’m not looking to overload you with too much ‘strategizing’ as we have reached something of an equilibrium in financial markets with far less volatility thank goodness. Instead I’ll look forward to one of the issues that will be influencing market sentiment as we slowly emerge blinking and a bit fearful out of lockdown, whether inflation may be due for a surprise comeback after all.   Markets The chart shows the returns from markets in their own currency and the table the sector fund average return which for overseas sectors includes the translation back into sterling and, with the weakness of sterling this year, shows what a laggard UK equities have been compared to other asset classes. IA Sector Average 2020 ytd (%) UK All Companies -21.6 UK Equity Income -24.1 Europe ex-UK -10.6 North America -0.2 Japan -3.7 Asia Pacific ex-Japan -8.2 Global Emerging Markets -13.4 UK Gilts 10.6 UK Index-Linked Gilts 11.3 Sterling Corporate Bonds 0.5 Sterling Strategic Bond -1.5 UK Direct Property -2.3   Figures from Financial Express Analytics This table, with data courtesy of the [...]