The positive market sentiment that gained momentum in the spring continued in August, driven by continued stabilisation in inflation expectations and growing hopes of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve later in the year. The global index advanced by 2.0%.
The second-quarter reporting season is essentially complete, and the overall picture remains strong. In the US, 80% of companies in the S&P 500 have exceeded analysts’ expectations, with average earnings growth of around 9%. This means that the S&P 500 can now report four consecutive quarters of strong earnings growth – which reinforces the picture of a robust US economy.
The US stock market continued to rise in August. Driven by a strong technology and communications sector, the S&P 500 reached a new record level. The index ended the month up 2.8%, while the Nasdaq rose 3.5%.
The Nordic stock markets also showed mixed performance in August. The Stockholm Stock Exchange (OMX 30) rose by about 2%, with the engineering and banking sectors making the largest positive contributions. The Copenhagen Stock Exchange, on the other hand, recovered from its weakness in July as Novo Nordisk stabilised after lowering its forecast. The Oslo Stock Exchange continued to be affected by lower oil prices but benefited from a strong Norwegian krone.
As of 31 July 2025, our Nordic fund, NE Strategy, has received the highest rating of 5/5 in Consistent Return over 5 years, 10 years and overall. Consistent Return is one of the rating categories included in LSEG Lippers’ ‘Lipper Leaders Rating System’. It measures how consistently a fund has performed over time by weighing both return and risk. A high rating means that the fund has not only delivered good returns during individual periods, but has also shown stable performance across different market conditions.
In August, we sent out Jonas Jakobson’s book ‘Investment Strategies in a Historical Perspective – from Rome to New York’ in five parts. Through the chapters, readers were able to follow thoughts on investments, economic history and meetings with international investors. If you would like to read the entire book, please feel free to contact us and we will gladly send you a copy by post.
*The fund’s performance is in SEK and is reported after dividends and fees. Inflation is not taken into account. Historical returns are no guarantee of future returns. The money invested in the fund may increase or decrease in value, and there is no guarantee that an investor will get back the amount invested.
Fact sheets and information brochures are available on request or at www.nordeq.se.
