Citi Wealth warns markets may be 'uncomfortably strong' amid mounting geopolitical, inflation risks

Global markets may be due for a period of consolidation after a sharp rally in equities, even as the longer-term outlook for stocks remains positive, according to Citi Wealth's chief investment officer Kate Moore. Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the Citi Pan Asia Conference, Moore said markets have been more resilient than investors expected in recent months despite persistent concerns surrounding the Middle East conflict, sticky inflation and crowded investor positioning. "Markets were focused in the last few weeks on really phenomenal earnings and the upgrade to spending expectations that came out as companies talked about their earnings, so that everyone got very positive," Moore said. "It feels sometimes like markets can only focus on one thing at a time," and "for some people the market's been uncomfortably strong since the March lows." The rally has been underpinned by resilient U.S. economic data and strong earnings growth, particularly among technology and artificial intelligence-linked firms. The MSCI World Index, which tracks developed-market large and mid-cap stocks, is currently hovering at record high levels, and is up more than 13% off its March trough. For one, tech behemoth Microsoft reported better-than-expected quarterly results recently and told investors that capital expenditures for the year will reach $190 billion due to soaring memory costs. …