Global markets concluded the first half of the year on a positive note, driven by robust GDP data and better-than-expected personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation figures from the US.
The encouraging economic data, revealing a 2% growth in US second quarter GDP (compared to 1.3% in the first quarter of 2023), reignited the risk-on sentiment that had wavered earlier in the month due to the highly hawkish testimony of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and an unforeseen interest rate hike by the Bank of England (BoE).