Five anonymised historical charts were dealt to every player. The Monkey Index returned -0.05% across the same tape.
65 desks completed all five charts.
Markets were bouncing hard out of the late-2018 rate scare, but nerves around peak interest margins were already dogging the big brokers. This was the week the relief rally hit a wall.
A punishing memory glut had dragged chipmakers into one of their worst slumps in a decade, but heavy production cuts were finally steadying the market. The shares barely budged all week as buyers waited for proof that the cycle had turned.
Fears that new weight-loss drugs would hollow out demand for surgery had triggered a sharp summer sell-off across medtech. This is the week the bleeding finally stopped.
Post-crisis regulations were squeezing trading desks and the European debt scare was only just cooling off, but big investment banks had spent late summer powering higher. This was the week the autumn rally paused for breath.
Slowing Chinese demand had cast a long shadow over global miners, but a summer bounce in copper gave the market fresh legs. The run carried straight through to the close.