The S&P 500 is up 16% YTD, with the benchmark recording its 4th positive week in the last five as investors bet that any economic weakness later this year will be met with a Fed rate cut. The Nasdaq’s YTD gain is 22%. As measured by Russell 1000 indexes, growth shares outperformed value stocks by 415 basis points over the week, while small & mid caps recorded losses. Expectations for lower interest rates, fed by signs of weakening growth and easing inflation pressures, seemed to remain a major factor in favouring growth stocks. On Monday, the ISM posted its lowest reading of manufacturing activity (48.5) since February. More surprising may have been a sharp downturn in the ISM’s current services sector activity, which plunged from 53.8 in May to 48.8 in June.

Populism is on the rise, the first Presidential debate sparked renewed concerns over Biden's mental acuity and both the S&P500 and the Nasdaq100 reach new all-time highs. Each month, the Syz investment team takes you through the last month in ten charts.

Biden stumbles in his first debate, credit card interest rates soar in the US, and Hoka's dream ascent continues. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Most major U.S. stock indexes posted gains in a light news week during what seemed to be a bit of a lull in market activity ahead of Q2 earnings reports. Small-caps and Tech stocks performed best, with growth style outperforming value. The banking sector performed well as media reports said that the Fed is considering significantly lighter additional capital requirements for banks than regulators originally proposed in the wake of the regional banking crisis in March 2023. This good news was followed by the Fed’s announcement that all 31 of the large U.S. banks they stress tested remained above their minimum capital levels. The main macro number of the week was Core PCE inflation which showed that prices excluding food and energy rose 0.1% from April.

The SNB lowered its key rate once again, Microsoft, Nvidia and Apple continue to dominate and who holds France's sovereign debt? Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

US stocks recorded modest gains over the shortened trading week (markets were closed on Wednesday), with the S&P 500 hitting 5,500 intraday for the 1st time ever. The week also saw modest signs of rotation in the market, with value stocks outperforming growth as Nvidia suffered its first down-week in two months. Friday was a so-called triple-witching day, with roughly USD 5.5 trillion in options related to indexes, stocks and ETFs expiring. The start of the week brought some evidence of US economy easing with retail sales signalling less discretionary spending. But data released later in the week suggested that the economy was stronger than indicated by retail sales.

The Fed remains cautious, wanting more data before deciding on a rate cut, while newly released US CPI data provided relief for the markets and the rise of Rassemblement National result in snap elections in France. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The major US equity indexes ended mostly higher for the week, with the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite touching new highs. The market’s advance remained exceptionally narrow for the 2nd consecutive week, however, with an equally weighted version of the S&P 500 trailing its more familiar, capitalization-weighted counterpart by 2.15%. The AI euphoria continues to provide a continuing tailwind to tech-related stocks and growth shares, which outpaced value stocks by the largest margin since March 2023 (461 basis points). Another factor behind growth shares’ outperformance may have been reassuring inflation data and falling bond yields. US headline CPI inflation was flat in May for the first time in nearly two years.

The US job market shows mixed signals, the ECB cuts rates and Nvidia overtakes Apple's market cap! Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices both reached record intraday highs during the week while small & mid caps pulled back. Growth stocks outpaced value shares by the widest amount since early in the year on the back of falling longer-term interest rates. The start of the week brought some downbeat economic readings (e.g ISM manufacturing below 50.0), which appeared to lead to a return of worries about “stagflation” among some investors. The picture brightened at midweek as the ISM’s services jumped to 53.8 in May, its highest level in nine months. The upside surprise in the official US jobs report on Friday morning didn’t lead to a negative market's reaction as it was tempered by an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate to 4.0%, its highest level since January 2022.