18 June 2019 : The mood across financial markets is set to remain cautious as investors find comfort on the sidelines ahead of several major central bank decisions over the coming days.

When factoring in how the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan will all be under the spotlight this week, market players will prefer to sit on the sidelines and await the outcome of these meetings in anticipation, before deciding what move to make in their portfolios.

Persistent US-China trade tensions, heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East, Brexit uncertainty and concerns over decelerating global growth are clearly the enemies of central banks at present. The increased potential of another round of central banks easing monetary policy to counter a global slowdown continues to offer investors something to fall back on, but the key question is - for how long?

Global equity markets have overall performed well in June, although the gains have been built on shaky foundations.

Should central bank policymakers sound less downbeat than the market is expecting and soften speculation of monetary easing, stock markets face the risk of tumbling like a house of cards.

Reporting for EasyKobo on Tuesday , 18 June 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria

Source: Lukman Otunuga, Research Analyst at FXTM