The potential resolution of the debt ceiling issue and the release of key economic indicators, such as inflation and unemployment figures, further intensified pressure on government bonds, causing them to decline by over 2% in May.

The Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is up 24% year-to-date — a stark contrast to the 0.16% decline of the narrowly focused Dow Jones Industrial Average over the period. Alongside the debt ceiling negotiations, the signal event in the week may have been Thursday’s 24% jump in the shares in chipmaker NVIDIA, which took the company’s market capitalization to nearly USD 1 trillion, the sixth most highest market cap in the world.

The past week proved challenging for U.S. Treasury bonds, which experienced a decline of -1.4% due to progress made in debt ceiling talks. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield saw a significant increase of nearly 30bps, marking its largest weekly rise since June 2022.

Last week, the Nasdaq 100 reached its highest level since April 2022, the largest market caps of the S&P500 are resolutely up since the start of the year and yet Cathie Wood's ARK Invest fund sharply underperforms the FAANGs. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

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).