Healthcare share prices tend to reflect some trepidation leading up to and shortly after the US presidential elections, yet for the last five elections the sector outperformed in the 12 months following the election.

Both the nonfarm payrolls report and preliminary Michigan Sentiment Index will offer insights into the strength of the US consumer at the start of the year.

Since the US presidential elections, US equities have been on an uptrend driven by a certain optimism, as the expectation of tax cuts and deregulation have fuelled the hope of accelerated corporate earnings growth.

The Fed and the ECB will take centre stage. The first is expected to hold rates steady but the latter is likely to cut rates. The press conferences will provide additional insights. The Q4 earnings season will gather speed as Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, and Apple will report, dominating the tech sector.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House will likely bring a clearer picture of how dominant his policy plans will be. Undoubtedly, his rhetoric and his policy decisions will shape and shake the economy and financial markets.

This year, the Christmas rally came a month earlier, and Santa Claus has moved from the North Pole to Florida. During December, some of the “Trump trade” winners gave back part of the previous month gains.

European equity markets ended the last month of the year on a positive note. The positive market trend was mainly driven by rate cuts and slowing inflation over the course of 2024.

The last month of 2024 was a difficult one for the markets. Most major rates markets sold off, with the US 10-year rising by 40 basis points. At the same time, risk assets offered relatively little respite.