Bank of England holds interest rate at 0.01%

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Prosperity Investment Management provides you with a weekly update from markets across the globe.

Starting in the UK, the Bank of England’s policymakers voted unanimously to keep the benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 0.1% and to continue its existing bond-buying program. The central bank said that global economic developments “had been a little stronger than anticipated” last month and noted that the U.S. fiscal stimulus package should provide “significant additional support.”

In the US, the week began on a strong note - attributed to a combination of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus, more retail investor support and the better economic outlook given progress in containing the spread of coronavirus. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would reach 100 million coronavirus vaccinations by the next day, well ahead of earlier targets, and was even preparing to lend doses to Canada and Mexico.

Chinese stocks fell for the week, with the Shanghai Composite Index slipping 1.4% and the large-cap CSI 300 Index shedding 2.7%. Chinese stocks underperformed other Asian markets on Friday after negative headlines about the first day’s talks at the U.S.-China meeting in Alaska, with each side criticising the other.