Markets rose across the board last month, seemingly defying expectations as the US-Iran conflict entered its third month, according to recent research from Fairview Investing.<\/p>\n
All major markets posted a positive return in April, ranging from the FTSE 100, which rose 2.3%, to the MSCI Emerging Markets index, which climbed 13.3%, according to data from FE fundinfo.<\/p>\n
This meant almost all major equity indexes have delivered a positive return for investors so far this year, with the Hang Seng index finally edging back into positive territory.<\/p>\n
Ben Yearsley, director at Fairview Investing, said: \u201cMarkets have been surprisingly resilient, almost unnaturally so.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can markets be so strong when oil has doubled in two months?\u201d <\/p>\n
He noted daily swings of more than $10 a barrel have become commonplace, \u201coften in response to Donald Trump\u2019s social media posts\u201d. Natural gas has been almost as volatile, although the warmer summer weather has led to less demand, he noted.<\/p>\n
And yet, strong corporate profits from areas such as technology (Microsoft and Apple) and oil (BP) have allowed the market to mostly shrug off higher prices, Yearsley said.<\/p>\n
Technology funds posted a strong month, with the IA Technology and Technology Innovation sector topping the chart with a 15.8% average return. The IA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector followed closely behind at 12.2%, which also had heavy exposure to AI, Yearsley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AI trade is back in full swing despite a few wobbles over capex \u2013 there\u2019s always someone on the other side of the trade benefiting from the tech bros\u2019 largesse.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is reflected in the month\u2019s top funds, with five of the 10 best performers being tech funds, with the rest split between Asia and Korean strategies<\/p>\n
Liontrust Global Technology, managed by Storm Uru and Clare Pleydell-Bouverie, was the top performer of the month, rising 35%. The strategy aims to deliver long-term capital growth by investing in \u201chigh-quality technology companies\u201d around the world, according to the team\u2019s factsheet.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the worst performing funds were in the energy sector, a reversal from the prior month despite the heightened oil and gas prices. Three different energy funds (GS North American Energy and Energy Infrastructure, BlackRock BGF World Energy and WS Guinness Global Energy) were in the red in April.<\/p>\n
Yearsley attributed this to investors engaging in a \u201cspot of profit taking\u201d after strong performance over recent months.<\/p>\n