Solid reasons behind good beginning for stock market

You may wonder why it is that the stock market has kicked off 2015 in relatively good shape, with a number of Irish companies, in particular, starting the year with positive share price movements, says Joe Gill.

I’m inclined to believe a series of macro events, rather than stock-specific issues, lie at the heart of an encouraging bounce in equity prices. These factors also have resonance for the health and prospects of the economy.

The most immediate dynamic at work, in a positive way, is the decision by the ECB to train its powerful financial guns at the European economy. A sustained and aggressive period of pump-priming is under way, designed to boost spending and lending across the eurozone.