US stocks recorded solid gains for the week, with the S&P 500 Index breaching the 4,200 level in intraday trading for the first time since late August. The market’s advance remained notably narrow, however. The equal-weighted S&P 500 Index is up only 0.93% year-to-date, which is 825 basis points behind the weighted index.

All U.S. banking stocks are down since the start of the year, the S&P500 continues to be buoyed by large tech stocks and interest on US debt continues to climb rapidly. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

US Treasury yields increased slightly during the week, as progress in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) and worsening initial claims were not enough to offset the highest level (3.2%) in the University of Michigan's long-term inflation survey since 2011.

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.