Global equities continued to rise last week. Demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continued to drive market returns, while earnings season maintained its strong positive momentum. The headline data release was the April jobs report in the US. Nonfarm payrolls figures increased for the second consecutive month, with the US adding 115,000 jobs in April – well-ahead of the 62,000 consensus forecast. A number of Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surveys were released globally. In the US, the S&P Global Services PMI fell to 51.0, while in Europe, the final estimate of the April Manufacturing PMI was unchanged at 52.2. In Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased interest rates by 25bps, as expected, marking…