The Nasdaq was the week's best performing major equity index (up almost 3%) followed by the S&P 500. The laggard was Small Caps which ended the week unchanged. Growth stocks outperformed value shares as Technology, Energy, & Materials all outperformed with only the Healthcare sector in the red for the week. Stocks had their best day of the week on Thursday, largely in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to not introduce new global tariffs, instead signing an order that—following further study—could lead to the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on a country-by-country basis by April 1.

With long-term U.S. real yields hitting cycle highs near 2.5%, the Trump administration’s initiatives aim to restore fiscal credibility and lower borrowing costs—but execution risks remain high. Meanwhile, global central banks and markets react to inflation surprises, BOE rate cuts, and deepening trade tensions.

More trade war tariffs have been collected under Biden than Trump, but US tariffs remain among the lowest in the developed world. Meanwhile, gold prices hit new highs. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Major US stocks indexes declined during the week, although the S&P 500 Index held up best, falling just 0.2%. Stocks opened sharply lower to start the week in response to the prior Friday’s announcement from Trump stating that the U.S. would be implementing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with 10% levies on Chinese imports, as of February 1. However, by the end of Monday, Trump had agreed to postpone tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days, which helped stocks recover some of their early losses by the end of the week. Earnings season was another notable driver of sentiment; according to data from FactSet, 77% of S&P 500 Index companies that have reported Q4 results have posted consensus-topping earnings, with an average growth rate of 16.4% (compared with estimates for 11.9% earnings growth).

New U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports, including a 10% levy on uranium, could disrupt nuclear energy, which powers 20% of U.S. electricity. However, swift Canadian action on fentanyl trafficking has delayed the tariffs, easing immediate supply concerns. A trade war remains unlikely due to strong economic ties.

January saw global bond markets rally despite Trump’s tariff shock, the Fed’s cautious stance, and the ECB’s fifth rate cut—while EM bonds outperformed, fueled by easing U.S. rates and strong technicals.

Nvidia’s market cap dropped, DeepSeek continues to disrupt, and European banks outperformed the Mag 7. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

U.S. stocks finished the volatile week mostly lower, although the Dow rose modestly to notch its third straight week of gains. The Nasdaq Composite experienced a particularly steep drop on Monday, driven by a sell-off in tech stocks in response to the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI developer, which released a new open-source large language model that reportedly requires much less energy and processing power than other leading AI applications, leading to competitive concerns in the broader AI space. The news led to shares of NVIDIA falling nearly 17% on Monday.

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Markets navigate a complex landscape marked by the Bank of Japan's rate hike to 0.50%, Trump's forceful return to monetary policy debates, and European credit spreads reaching multi-year lows, setting the stage for heightened volatility ahead.