The past week was marked by significant volatility in major global stock exchanges. In Europe, the market sentiment was extremely bearish. During the whole week, French CAC40 declined by 3.5%, German DAX went down by 2.8% and British FTSE250 fell by 0.2%. Meanwhile, the US stock indices managed to end last week in positive territory – the NASDAQ rose by 2.3%, the S&P500 went up by 0.5% and the DJI increased by 0.2%. Investors focused on economic data from the US. The readings disappointed once again. The dynamic of the retail sales stood at -0.3% m/m vs -0.2% projected.

The first part of the last week was very smooth on the financial markets. Investors was waiting for Thursday’s decision of the ECB’s Governing Council on the interest rates. The market did not expect any changes in the monetary policy, whereas investors hoped that during the conference Mario Draghi would announce an extension of the QE. Meanwhile, the president of the ECB did not declare any dovish changes in the near future. As a result, major global stock indices started do decrease. What is more, they continued to decline on Friday as well. During the whole week, French CAC40 went down by 1.1%, German DAX deteriorated by 1% and British FTSE250 fell by 0.7%.

Last week was very rich in numerous macroeconomic data readings, especially from the US. It was expected that the data could have helped to answer the question whether the recent hawkish comments of Fed representatives would be reflected in the interest rates rise. The latest economic data readings failed, whereas the market believed that the FOMC would decide to tighten monetary policy in the coming months. On the one hand, the reading of the Conference Board index surprised positively (101.1 pts. vs 96.9 pts. expected), while on the other the publication of the Chicago PMI disappointed investors (51.5 pts. vs 54 pts. expected).

In the past week, not macro data but a symposium in Jackson Hole was the most important event of the week, or even whole month. The culminating point was the occurrence of Fed boss J. Yellen, which caused high volatility and strong fall on EURUSD. In the case of stock markets, a high response was not observed. Europe's most important stock exchanges on Friday ended the session in positive territory, whereby Wall Street noted only a mild decline.

The establishment of historical records on Wall Street apparently was not accidental. Even a week of weaker sentiment resulted in neutral ending, keeping indices close to records. Last FOMC meeting, which showed indecision among the local central bankers found fertile soil. They do not see the trouble of inflationary pressure, while data from the US economy, although good, is not yet convincing. Therefore it seems, that rate increases in September is not a basic scenario.