Last week a demand side was in power on the WSE. The WIG20 rose by 0.9%, while WIG50 went up by 1%. This  was consistent with the performance of Western Europe indices. The CAC40 and the DAX were also up approx. 1%. In the US, the S & P 500 index scored seventh upward week in the row, ending with an increase of 0.4%.

Last week, negative readings from the US surprised markets. The only positive news was a revision of annualized GDP for the third quarter (from 3.5 to 3.9 %). Important readings as consumer confidence, Chicago PMI index and durable goods orders excluding means of transport were disappointing. These weak numbers did not stop Wall Street from further gains as weaker data are deferring interest rate increases.

Last week has provided a great deal of emotions and substantial volatility. This was influenced by a number of macroeconomic data releases as well as the words of the head of the ECB. At the beginning it seemed that investors’ moods could be affected by poor data from Japan, where GDP fell by 1.6%. This was interpreted as ‘bad news is a good news’ as it calls for more quantitative loosening by the BoJ. Serious threat could have been disappointing data from the Eurozone - PMI from France and Germany was surprisingly poor.

Last week there wasn’t much data releases that would drive the markets. Concerns about escalation of the conflict in Ukraine are again worrying investors. At the meeting of the G20 leaders Russian President Putin left the summit earlier than expected. He denies the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine. There are no high hopes to lift sanctions that are harmful not only to Russia but Europe as well.

 Last week was very busy and interesting for equity investors. A number of important data was released. PMIs from European countries, including Poland (positive surprise of PMI index returning above the 50 points barrier), the  MPC and the ECB meetings, and monthly labour market data from the U.S.