The Nasdaq index hit a new record, led by the tech giants, while e-commerce stocks boosted the Chinese market to its best performance in five years. Government and corporate bond markets remained firm, despite cuts to economic growth forecasts. We look forward to dramatic profit declines for Q2, as the US reporting season gets underway this week.

With all the talk of the ‘new normal’ post lockdowns and forecasts of a V-shaped recovery, markets have rallied hard over the second quarter. Financial markets are awash with liquidity and there are promises of further support from central banks.