The major US equity indexes finished mixed for the week. We note however that the S&P 500 Index came close to matching its longest winning streak in nearly two decades. Indeed, on Wednesday, the S&P 500 notched its eighth straight gain, while the Nasdaq marked its ninth. The market’s strength was exceptionally narrow, however, with an equally weighted version of the S&P 500 Index lagging its market-weighted counterpart by 190 basis points. Upside earnings surprises from some tech firms appeared to provide support to growth stocks. On Thursday, a $24 billion auction of 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds, which was met with the weakest demand in two years, triggered some profit taking on stocks as US Treasury yields climbed. On the US macro side, the University of Michigan’s release preliminary gauge of consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly to its lowest level in six months. In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 Index ended 0.2% lower as optimism about a peak in interest rates dimmed. Japan’s stock markets rose over the week, with the Nikkei 225 Index up 1.9% and the broader TOPIX Index gaining 0.6%, supported by strong corporate earnings, the government’s commitment to additional economic stimulus, and continued currency tailwinds. Oil ended the week on an uptrend with, trading back up towards its 200DMA (around $78.18). Gold fell for the second week in a row, tumbling almost 3% this week. Bitcoin surged to 18-month highs on the heels of ETF approval hopes.