Quarterly Outlook
Macro outlook: Trump 2.0: Can the US have its cake and eat it, too?
John J. Hardy
Chief Macro Strategist
Singapore Sales Trader
The US equity market rallied to record highs in April, boosted by better-than-expected economic data and robust corporate results. Nonetheless, the seemingly unending twists and turns in global trade wars – first China, next victim was Mexico – in addition to a significant slowdown in global growth, reversed the initial good rally for this year. Giant technology names had a difficult end to 2018, with the FAANG group hammered alongside the broader market worries. But subsequently, large-cap tech stocks came roaring back in a rally that was largely on the back of decent corporate earnings. Collectively known as the FAANG stocks, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google are among the tech titans of all time, both in terms of influence, reach and their mega market capitalisation.