Knowledge Centre

Stocks around the world surged in 2025 in what was one of the most topsy-turvy years in a long time. It was a year of change and surprises with the big moves all intertwined in the trade war, geopolitics, and debt.

Economic growth globally is tracking slightly better than expected. While growth is still weak and below potential due to U.S. trade policy, the financial markets are holding up better than feared.

Financial markets are entering a new era as the global economic system that has operated for the last 80 years is being reset. Despite the hair-on-fire terror unleashed by Mr. Trump’s trade war, the panic has now shifted to a new perspective that the world will move forward.

The global economy succeeded in making a soft landing in 2024 although some countries stuck that landing better than others. However, in 2025, policy changes are coming fast and furious; from tariffs to taxes, immigration policy to national sovereignty – the world has been flipped seemingly upside down.

All in all, 2024 was a resilient and robust year. Multiple elections around the globe; escalation of geopolitical conflicts; the battle against inflation and rising protectionism via potential tariffs; and the use of industrial policy to realign supply chains in favour of domestic companies, ultimately failed to impact returns.

A wholesale central bank easing cycle is happening around the world and is likely to pick up steam in the quarters ahead. The global economy looks likely to register a modest uptick in 2024 from last year’s pace as most broad based indicators have surprised to the upside.

A weak global economy is being offset largely by declining inflation and easing financial conditions which has had the effect of propelling many financial markets to record highs around the world.

That swooshing sound investors hear is stock markets around the world zooming upward in Q1 2024. Over the past quarter, many of the world’s leading stock markets have hit record highs as has gold, various commodities, and bitcoin.

As the world continues to navigate past the long shadow of COVID, there is less uncertainty than we have had in recent years as the tail end of a decades high bout of inflation and a stomach churning 18 months of rate hikes appears to be coming to an end.

Faced with soaring inflation and one of the steepest interest rate hike cycles in history, investors have been bracing for the recessionary shoe to drop. Yet a strange thing happened on the way to this highly anticipated global slowdown: an equity bull market broke out earlier this year.