Markets have had a difficult start to 2022. Inflationary concerns and increasingly hawkish central banks have been the dominant factors driving market volatility and weakness over January.

Global stock markets finished 2021 with double-digit gains, for a third year in a row, thanks to supportive monetary and fiscal policy that has countered persistent Covid headwinds over the last year.

The last few days of November were characterised by a to-ing and fro-ing direction in markets, with the emergence of the Omicron variant unsettling investors.

Despite inflationary headwinds, US indices reached all-time highs in October, supported by strong corporate earnings for the third quarter.

September was an eventful and choppy month for markets. Inflation has been an important topic this month, with central banks communicating increasingly hawkish signals.