The week started with positive UK economic news as the April Rightmove (RMV) house price survey showed asking prices rising at 1.7% on last year, their biggest jump in 12 months, driven by more top-end properties coming to market.

The average price of homes put up for sale reached £372,324, less than £600 short of the record level registered last May, as a revival of activity in the market prompted more owners of bigger, detached houses to sell up.

However, the market’s focus is likely to be firmly on US data ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting next Thursday 1 May and its impact on forward guidance.

Shortly after Shares goes to press, March’s PCE (personal consumer expenditure) price index – one of the Federal Reserve’s key inputs when it comes to deciding whether or not to cut interest rates – is released.

This is followed next week by various purchasing managers’ surveys along with jobs figures, which if they continue to surprise to the upside will deepen the gloom over the prospect for rate cuts.

As predicted, there was a good deal of chatter last week around comments from senior central bank officials, in particular New York Fed President John Williams, who said the US benchmark interest rate was ‘in a good place’ and there was no urgency to cut any time soon.

When pressed as to whether rates could actually rise rather than fall, Williams didn’t rule out the possibility although he admitted it wasn’t his base case.

The notion that US rates are not just set to stay higher for longer but could potentially rise if inflation isn’t brought under control was enough to send the S&P 500 index down 5%, marking its worst week since October 2022.

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