US stocks pulled back this week as investors have been digesting a Moody's downgrade of US debt, the House's passage of a budget bill that could further increase the Federal deficit, a slew of retailer earnings that suggest that the US consumer has been so-far undaunted by tariff uncertainties, and Friday's social media post from President Trump indicating that the EU could be hit with a much higher import tariff rate as soon as the end of next week if trade negotiations fail US small- and mid-cap indexes fared worst, while the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones both fell back into negative territory for the year after ending the prior week slightly positive. The Nasdaq held up best but still shed 2.5%. After a relatively quiet start to the week, stock indexes took a sharp turn lower on Wednesday, alongside U.S. Treasuries, following a weaker-than-expected auction of 20-year Treasury bonds, which pushed longer-term yields higher and saw the 30-year yield hit its highest level since 2023, though Treasuries across most maturities recovered some ground by the end of the week. US equities continued to slide on Friday after Trump announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union, effective June 1. The STOXX Europe 600 Index ended 0.75% lower over the week. Both Japan and China equities declined over the week. The US dollar hit an 18-months low. Gold ended the week at its highest weekly close ever. Bitcoin topped $112,000, a new record high, before retreating on Friday.