Global Market Insights: November 2023

November's rally provided some much needed relief across developed market equities on the back of better-than-expected inflation data, firstly in the US and then the UK. Western markets led, fuelled by a steep fall in 10-year bond yields, along with a more muted fall in short-dated debt. The star of the show was the US with the S&P 500 having the seventh best month of returns in the last 100 years. The rally was also supported by weakening data (which reduces the need for further increases in interest rates) in the US and signs of a stabilisation in manufacturing in both the UK and Europe. There was a welcome rally in UK small and mid-capitalisation companies, which had lagged thus far this year, as well as in European equity markets.