The Dow Jones hits the 40,000-point milestone for the first time ever, China offloads a record amount of US debt in Q1, and the copper market experiences significant disruptions. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Index, and Nasdaq Composite climbed to record highs during the week, with the Dow crossing the 40k threshold for the first time ever. As inflation and interest rate worries appeared to dissipate, growth stocks outperformed. The major factor supporting sentiment appeared to be Wednesday’s release of the US Labor Department’s April consumer price index (CPI), which came in at or modestly below expectations, in contrast to hotter-than-expected prints over the preceding three months. Thursday’s US retail sales figure was another boost for stocks as bad macro news seemed to be good news for the market (retail sales were flat in April versus consensus estimates of a 0.4% gain).

Rising share buybacks, led by Apple, expected to sustain US stock market rally. US household savings have shrunk considerably just as the US labour market is starting to deteriorate. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The S&P 500 Index is moving back towards its all-time high and recorded its third consecutive week of gains. The other major indexes also advanced, with value stocks generally outperforming growth shares. Market volumes were especially low over much of the week. A surprise rise in weekly jobless claims seemed to dominate the week’s economic calendar: unemployment benefits rose to 231,000 in the week ended the previous Wednesday, its highest since last August. Likewise, continuing claims broke a four-week downward streak and rose to 1.79 million.

Is it time for QT tapering? US equities continue to outperform 30-year US Treasuries and where are all the US listed companies going? Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

After a volatile week, the main US equity indices ended in positive territory thanks to a strong rally on Friday after a softer-than-expected April jobs report boosted hopes that the Fed could start cutting interest rates soon. Overall, US data have been surprising on the downside recently and markets are now pricing in two full Fed rate cuts in 2024 and three more cuts in 2025. Over the week, growth stocks outperformed value shares and small-caps outpaced large-caps. It was the 2nd-busiest week of Q1 earnings reports and a positive reception to Apple’s earnings release after the close of trading on Thursday seemed to help drive a rebound in overall sentiment.

Annual US debt interest spending is surging sharply, while Japan faces increasing inflation expectations alongside a persistent decline in the yen's value. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

US equities managed to snap a string of three weekly losses. Earnings took center stage with the spotlight on the Magnificent 7 stocks. Despite the high bar, companies have so far been able to beat expectations, helping the S&P 500 recover half of its April losses. The Nasdaq outperformed, up 4% on the week (its best week since the start of Nov 2023), helped in part by strength in Apple and a late rebound in chipmaker NVIDIA. Shares in Google parent Alphabet also surged in the week following its announcement of better-than-expected Q1 earnings along with the company’s first dividend payment. The Dow was the laggard. On the Macro side, the US economy expanded at an annualized rate of 1.6% in Q1, well below consensus estimates of around 2.5% and the slowest pace of growth in nearly two years.

The yen continues to plummet, France's debt-to-GDP gap with Germany widens further and Zoom goes boom! Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Stocks recorded broad losses, as concerns over tensions in the Middle East and the possibility of U.S. interest rates remaining “higher for longer” appeared to weigh on sentiment. Mega-cap technology shares lagged as rising rates placed a higher theoretical discount on future earnings. A Q1 revenue miss from ASML Holdings also seemed to weigh on the sector and on general optimism toward companies with AI-related earnings. Some strong economic data (e.g retail sales +0.7% vs. 0.3% expected) appeared to increase worries that the Fed would push back any interest rate cuts to the fall, if not to 2025. Conversely, downward surprises in housing market data may have furthered inflation fears by auguring continued supply tightness. As was the case last week, Fed officials expressed their concern with recent economic data.