The capital markets surprised with a veritable flight of fancy in January, dismissing any lingering skepticism. The European markets in particular rose more strongly than the US market. The EuroStoxx 50 gained almost 10 percent, while the S&P500 index returned 6.3 percent. The Nasdaq even recorded its best start to the year since 1975. The reasons for this are manifold. Falling inflation figures and lower fears of recession provided a mixture of relief and hope. Relief that things didn’t get any worse. Hope that things will get better again in the second half of the year. The so-called short interest really collapsed, and all hedges and short positions were massively reduced. The covering of these positions gave the markets a corresponding boost.

In Germany, the economic risks have been largely overcome. Energy supply remains a factor of uncertainty. Internationally, the focus is once again on central banks and their decelerated interest rate policy. In China, too, the economy is regaining momentum. After the zero-covid policy, a recovery was obvious.

Equity market volatilities, as measured by the VIX and VSTOXX indices, fell in January from 21.67% and 20.89% to 19.40% and 18.57%, respectively.

The Premium Income fund benefited from the strong start to the new year and the fall in volatilities. All components delivered a profit. Bonds also recovered some of their losses from last year. The fund gained +1.4%.