Central banks face a delicate balancing act, with the Fed set for a likely December rate cut amid resilient U.S. growth, while the ECB prepares for gradual easing as political instability and slowing inflation grip Europe.

Bitcoin rings the bell at $100,000 and continues to deliver massive ETF inflows, while global debt hits a new high. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Nasdaq was the week's biggest winner among the US majors equity indices in a week that saw the S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all continue to hit record highs, while the Russell 2000 Index declined after back-to-back weeks of outperformance versus its larger-cap peers. The Russell 1000 growth index outperformed Russell 1000 value by 553bps, the largest margin since March 2023. Sector performance was also widely dispersed as consumer discretionary, communication services, and IT stocks all gained over 3% for the week, while energy, utilities, and materials stocks all fell over 3%. Geopolitical headlines through the first half of the week were largely dominated by French and South Korean politics, though these seemed to have limited impact on U.S. markets.

U.S. Treasuries posted a strong finish to November, gaining +0.8% for the month, as Scott Bessent’s nomination as Treasury Secretary and softer-than-expected macroeconomic data provided a supportive backdrop.

France grapples with a massive debt yield ahead of next year’s budget, while the S&P 500 surges by $10 trillion this year. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Stocks recorded another week of gains, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Index, and S&P 400 MidCap Index to record intraday highs. Domestic policy and geopolitical factors appeared to be large drivers of sentiment during the week. On Monday, investors seemed to welcome President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent, a veteran hedge fund manager, as Treasury secretary. News of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, first reported Monday and formally announced Tuesday, seemed to support sentiment and may have overshadowed news that the president-elect plans to quickly impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10% tariff on imports from China.

Diverging economic trajectories widen the transatlantic gap, as resilient U.S. growth reshapes Fed policy expectations while Europe grapples with recession risks and deflationary pressures, driving contrasting bond market dynamics.

Bitcoin becomes the 7th largest asset worldwide, meanwhile investors prefer US over EU equities. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Major stock indexes finished the week higher, recovering some of the previous week’s losses despite some continuing uncertainty around the incoming Trump administration’s policies and escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Gains for the week were also relatively broad-based, with small caps outperforming large-caps and an equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 Index outpacing the main index. Shares of Nvidia ended the week little changed as investors appeared to be generally satisfied with the results, although the guidance for Q4 was lighter than some analysts expected. Solid US economic data sparked a rethink of Fed rate-cut expectations, with the curve now pricing in a 50-50 chance of 2 or 3 cuts by the end of 2025.

Bitcoin breaks records as BlackRock’s ETF surges, Trump’s political future takes shape. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.