Yields drop on lower oil prices

Global equity markets delivered another broad-based advance in the week ending 29 May 2026, with the MSCI AC World rising 2.2% and the S&P 500 logging a ninth consecutive weekly gain. A wave of blowout AI-related earnings — spanning hardware, data platforms, and identity security — drove technology to a near-6% weekly gain, while hopes for a US-Iran ceasefire extension pushed oil prices lower and lifted risk appetite globally. The report examines the broadening of technology leadership into software, the divergence between AI beneficiaries and potential AI victims within the sector, and the tensions between exceptional earnings momentum and an elevated inflation backdrop that continues to constrain the Federal Reserve's path to easing

Meanwhile, the widening performance gap highlights AI’s outsized role in equity markets. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Major U.S. stock indexes rose during the holiday-shortened week, with several benchmarks closing at record highs, as investor sentiment was supported by rising hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace agreement, falling oil prices, and continued momentum in artificial intelligence-linked stocks. The Nasdaq Composite led among the major benchmarks, buoyed in part by AI optimism, while the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500 Indexes also posted solid gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged but still rose 0.9%. Early reports that the U.S. and Iran were moving toward a 60-day ceasefire extension and a reopening of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz helped push oil prices lower and supported risk appetite through much of the week.

How one chipmaker reshuffled the global equity rankings — and what it means for both markets

The week was dominated by two interrelated forces: an intensifying sequence of US–Iran peace negotiations that pushed WTI crude oil down over 8%, easing the energy-inflation overhang that has weighed on equities and bonds alike since the conflict escalated earlier in the year; and a landmark set of quarterly results from Nvidia that reaffirmed the durability of hyperscaler AI capital expenditure and reignited investor confidence in the global technology complex.

From the Nasdaq's remarkable long-term resilience to growing concentration in emerging markets, Russia's forced gold sell-off, and China's capital allocation challenge, this week's 7 charts map’s the fault lines shaping the global investment landscape. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

 Major U.S. stock indexes closed the week higher, with the Dow Jones advancing to an all-time high and the S&P 500 Index rising for the eighth consecutive week, its longest winning streak since 2023. Small-cap and value stocks outperformed large-cap and growth shares. After a volatile start to the week, sentiment improved as enthusiasm around artificial intelligence (AI) stocks—supported in part by chipmaker NVIDIA’s stronger-than-expected earnings results—helped offset uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict. Additionally, while headlines around a possible deal between the U.S. and Iran remained fluid and sometimes conflicting, investors generally appeared to see negotiations as more likely than escalating military action.

Flash note

Global rates surge and weigh on bond markets across the board.