The oil supply shortage is set to worsen in Q4, European key rates are at their highest since the ECB was founded in 1999 and the US 12-month inflation continues to remain high in many segments of the economy. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

US stocks had a mixed week, with value stocks leading the market as U.S. WTI oil prices rose above $90 per barrel for the 1st time since November 2022. Tech and growth stocks lagged after Apple’s new product introduction event on Tuesday that featured a price increase on its top-of-the-line iPhone 15. However, broad market sentiment received a boost from the largest IPO of 2023 as shares of Arm started trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday. Wednesday’s release of the August CPI data showed that the Fed has made progress in its fight against inflation, but rising energy prices may prompt the central bank to further tighten monetary policy. The headline CPI numbers showed the largest monthly increase since August 2022, due to the effect of higher gasoline prices.

ECB may have just administered its final interest rate hike in this tightening cycle, while the Fed appears poised to hit the pause button at its upcoming meeting. This signals a potential approach to terminal rates, unless economies deliver unexpected upside surprises or inflation lingers at elevated levels longer than anticipated.

The ECB just raised its key rates again today, by 25bp (main Refi rate at 4.50%, deposit rate at 4.00%).

Mexican imports surpass Chinese ones in the US, marking a significant trade shift. Oil prices continue to rise, markets anticipate that the Fed will take a break in September amid a long period of US equity outperformance. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Stocks closed lower over the holiday-shortened week as positive economic data drove an increase in bond yields. Growth stocks and large-caps outperformed value and small-caps. Apple was one of the main negative performance contributors after news that Chinese government employees would no longer be able to use iPhones. Declines in NVIDIA and other chipmakers also weighed on the indexes. Macroeconomic data surprised on the upside. E.g the ISM report on August services sector activity jumped unexpectedly to its highest level since February. Meanwhile, Thursday’s weekly jobless claims report came in lower than expected; the number of Americans applying for unemployment in the previous week fell to 216,000, the lowest level in six months.

The bustling start to September, particularly in the primary market following Labor Day, has placed pressure on rates due to heightened hedging activity and on credit spreads because of new issue premiums.

US macroeconomic data disappointed, leading to an upward revision in the US interest rate outlook, while concerns over a potential property and financial crisis in China weakened foreign demand for US Treasury bonds. Simultaneously, US equity and bond markets experienced a correction, with energy stocks gaining but banking stocks being sold off. Here are 10 charts to help you look back on what happened in the markets during the month of August.

Signs that the US jobs market is cooling down helped the major US equity indices to register solid gains for the week, although stocks closed out their first negative month since February. A decrease in bond yields over much of the week provided a boost to growth shares. Smaller-cap stocks outperformed. Indeed, bad news for the economy was considered good news for stock prices, given the interest rate implications. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 Index recorded its best one-day gain since June, following news that job openings unexpectedly fell by 338,000 in July and hit their lowest level since March 2001

A softening US labor market and a slowdown in European activity, combined with improving inflation, may pave the way for the Fed and ECB to hit the pause button on their hiking cycles.