Charles Stanley's Cunliffe: Markets feel central banks are 'running out of road'

European and Japanese equities failed to rise after central bank action

Since the European Central Bank (ECB) eased monetary policy aggressively at its March policy meeting, European risk assets have put in a mixed performance, writes Jon Cunliffe, CIO at Charles Stanley & Co.

Corporate bonds and high-yield debt have performed strongly, benefiting from a large and more diverse asset purchase programme, while equities have staged a belated rally before settling back to levels seen around the time of March's meeting. One factor which has clearly troubled investors is the euro. Since the ECB eased policy, the strength of the euro is eerily reminiscent of the rally in the Japanese yen, which we have seen after the ill-fated ease by the Bank of Japan at the end of January. It seems as if the markets are beginning to feel central banks may be running out of road ...