The major US equity indexes ended mixed for the week as Q1 earnings season neared its end. The Nasdaq outperformed, helped by a surge in Alphabet following the unveiling of its new AI-based search platform. The Dow Jones lagged, weighed down by Disney. Financials stocks underperformed, dragged lower by ongoing concerns over the strains facing certain regional banks.

With a handful of stocks contributing to it’s perfomance, the S&P500 is up nearly 8% YTD, U.S. unemployment rate fell to a record low of 3.4% and the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

In the US, Treasuries erased almost all of their weekly gains on Friday after the release of strong economic data (employment and wages).

The Friday rally didn’t save the week Despite a rally on Friday, the S&P 500 Index ended the week lower on comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that suggested a pivot to cutting rates might not occur as quickly as the market had hoped. Unease around the U.S. debt ceiling may also have weighed on sentiment, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified congressional leaders in a letter that the agency might not be able to meet its debt obligations “potentially as early as June 1.” Within the S&P 500, Tech stocks fared the best while Energy shares pulled back in sympathy with the price of WTI crude oil.

In the US, the dichotomy between what the market expects, a further hike (25 basis points) and then the end of the Fed's tightening cycle, and what the Fed continues to send out as a message, that rates will have to remain high for an extended period of time, will continue to drive the markets this week.

JP Morgan wins the bidding to acquire First Republic, April was an overall positive month for US equities, and should we sell in May and go away? Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Stocks recorded mixed returns this week as attention focused on earnings reports. 35% of S&P 500 Index companies (or 44% of its market capitalization) were scheduled to release results during the week. Meta and Microsoft jumped while other FAANGs were mixed. Cyclical sectors generally performed poorly, however, as investors weighed several new signs of an economic slowdown.

The traditional debt ceiling issue seems to be of greater concern this time around than in previous episodes, as the 1-year U.S. CDS exceeded 100 bps for the first time, while the difference between 1-month and 3-month Treasury yields reached nearly 2%.

The banking crisis in the US may not be over with deposits at U.S. commercial banks continuing to fall, hitting their lowest level since April 2021. Also, interesting timing for Apple to announce the launch of a savings account via a partnership with Goldman Sachs. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The possibility of a “technical default” by the US has been raised as the current debt limit for the US government, set by law, is expected to be hit sometime during the summer.