Axiome Quarterly Q2 2026

Most markets delivered exceptional performances in the June 2026 quarter. Oil prices fell as traffic started flowing again through the Strait of Hormuz, following an ‘MOU’ between Iran, the US and Israel to develop a more comprehensive peace agreement. Global corporate earnings growth also remained very strong at around 14% for the year to June, as did corporate forward guidance.

While technology and the related AI capex boom again dominated the earnings picture, earnings gains were fairly broad based across different sectors and countries. As a consequence, the market rally was also broad based, with emerging markets being the stand-out, partly because of surging chip manufacturers in Taiwan and South Korea, but also because valuations were relatively cheap compared with developed markets.