Apple's market cap exceeded $3 trillion, the Nasdaq and Nikkei 225 indices were the best stock market performers in the 1st half of the year and the US economy continues to surprise on the upside. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

CHART OF THE WEEK: WILL “SOFT MACRO DATA” CLOSE THE GAP?

The Nasdaq is on track for its best first half since 1999, the S&P 500 is as expensive as in 2000 and India is poised to overtake China as the world's economic growth engine. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The major US equity benchmarks closed lower in a holiday-shortened trading week. The Nasdaq suffered its first weekly decline in two months, while the S&P 500 Index recorded its first drop in six weeks. Growth stocks outperformed value shares, while large-caps fared better than small-caps. Signs that further Federal Reserve rate hikes lay ahead seemed to weigh on sentiment for much of the week.

The S&P 500 is now up 15.3% in 2023, the best start to a year since 1997, but the 'magnificent seven' continue to dominate it. And although the Fed chose not to raise interest rates in May, future hikes seem more than likely. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

US main equity index continues a rally that began with only a few interruptions in late May. The S&P 500 Index notched its longest stretch of daily gains since November 2021 and its best weekly performance since the end of March. Indeed, several signs emerged that the economy is enjoying a “Goldilocks” expansion of continued growth alongside falling inflation.

The VIX, or "fear index" as commonly known, is back to pre-pandemic levels and various investor opinion surveys show a clear rise in the level of optimism, both signs of market complacency. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The S&P 500 enters bull market Stocks closed the week modestly higher as the S&P 500 Index moved into bull market territory, or up more than 20% off its mid-October lows. Market advance is broadening, with small-caps outperforming large-caps, and value shares outperforming growth stocks. An equally weighted S&P 500 Index also rose more than its capitalization-weighted counterpart for the first time in eight weeks and by the largest margin since late March.

A mixed bag for markets in May May saw First Republic Bank fail, another rate hike in the US and Europe and commodities hit a 2 year low. However, the job market remained resilient, an agreement was found to prevent a US debt default and AI mania propelled tech stocks even higher. Each month, the Syz investment team takes you through the last month in ten charts.

The major US equity indices recorded solid gains for the week, with the S&P 500 Index touching its highest intraday level since mid-August 2022. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index notched its sixth consecutive weekly gain and hit its best level since mid-April 2022. In contrast with the past several weeks, however, the rally was broad-based, with strong gains in both value and growth stocks, as well as small-caps.