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Major U.S. stock indexes finished the holiday-shortened week higher. Small-caps index Russell 2000 outperformed (+3.5% over the week) followed by the Dow Jones (+2.3%). Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices closed at all-time highs for the second week in a row. Much of the focus during the week centered around the progress of the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, which was narrowly passed by the Senate on Tuesday and by the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon. Trade-related headlines also continued to flow during the week, with President Trump announcing a trade deal with Vietnam on Wednesday and making comments around negotiations with several other trade partners ahead of the upcoming July 9 tariff deadline, when the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is expected to end.
US stocks rallied on the back of de-escalating tensions in the Middle East, dovish comments from several Federal Reserve officials, reports that the U.S. and China signed a new trade deal, and comments from several U.S. government officials indicating that more trade deals were close to the finish line. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite, up 3.4% and 4.3%, respectively, both closed at record highs. On the macro side, Core PCE, Fed’s preferred inflation measure showed modest uptick in May, up 2.7% yoy. S&P Global reported that U.S. business activity expanded in June, albeit at a moderately slower rate than in May. U.S. Treasury yields decreased in response to some of the week’s softer-than-expected economic data as well as comments from several Fed officials indicating rate cuts could be on the table sooner than many have been anticipating.
U.S. stock indexes finished the holiday-shortened week narrowly mixed, fluctuating throughout the week amid a slew of headlines regarding escalating tensions in the Middle East. Smaller-cap indexes performed best for the week, followed by the Nasdaq Composite, which posted modest gains. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept the funds rate unchanged. The Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections showed that policymakers expect to make two interest rate cuts through the remainder of the year, unchanged from their previous projection; however, expectations for inflation and unemployment by the end of 2025 both rose, while projections for GDP growth declined. On Friday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller made comments suggesting the central bank could be in a position to cut rates as soon as July.
U.S. stocks declined during the week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 1.32% and dropping back into negative territory for the year. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite fell to a lesser extent and remained positive year-to-date. Major indexes were broadly higher through Thursday, buoyed by some better-than-expected economic data releases as well as reports that trade talks between the U.S. and China had led to a preliminary agreement to ease recent trade tensions. However, sentiment quickly turned negative on Friday morning on news that Israel had launched a series of airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders, with a pledge of more attacks to come, to which Iran reportedly responded with a retaliatory attack later on Friday.
Main U.S. equities indices closed higher for the 2nd week in a row. The Russell 2000 Index outperformed (up +3.2%), while the Nasdaq (+2.2%) and the Dow (+1.2%) both advanced to join the S&P 500 Index in positive territory for the year. At the sector level, Tech outperformed, due in part to upbeat sentiment around AI-related stocks. Tesla was a notable underperformer on the back of Trump-Musk breakdown. On the trade side, tensions between the U.S. and China continued to re-escalate and then eased on Thursday, as Trump and Xi Jinping held a phone call that “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries,” according to a social media post from Trump. The highlight of the week’s economic calendar arguably came from Friday’s closely watched US nonfarm payrolls report, which seemed to indicate the labor market is cooling but at a slower pace than many were anticipating. This helped offset the “Musk-Trump tantrum”.
U.S. stocks rebounded during the holiday-shortened week, although major indexes faced some selling pressure late in the week and finished below their best levels. The Nasdaq led the way, gaining 2.01%, followed by the S&P 500 Index (1.88%). Smaller-cap indexes lagged. Equity markets opened higher following a weekend announcement from President Trump that he would delay the introduction of a new 50% tariff on imports from the EU until July 9. Later in the week, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that President Trump did not have the authority to impose the vast majority of the global tariffs that have been implemented since the start of his second term, sending stocks sharply higher on Thursday morning; however, the administration quickly appealed the ruling, and a federal appeals court put a temporary hold on the ruling Thursday evening, which led to stocks giving back some gains by the end of the week.
US stocks pulled back this week as investors have been digesting a Moody's downgrade of US debt, the House's passage of a budget bill that could further increase the Federal deficit, a slew of retailer earnings that suggest that the US consumer has been so-far undaunted by tariff uncertainties, and Friday's social media post from President Trump indicating that the EU could be hit with a much higher import tariff rate as soon as the end of next week if trade negotiations fail US small- and mid-cap indexes fared worst, while the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones both fell back into negative territory for the year after ending the prior week slightly positive.
U.S. equities posted strong gains for the week, with positive sentiment largely driven by news that the U.S. and China had agreed to a substantial de-escalation of trade tensions following talks in Switzerland over the weekend. The Nasdaq Composite led the way for major indexes, advancing 7.2%, while the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones gained 5.3% and 3.4%, respectively. On the US macro side, consumer price inflation in April was lower than expected. Retail sales growth decelerated in April while consumer sentiment continued to slide. In the EU, industrial production jumped in March, suggesting that the sector is emerging from a two-year recession.
Major indexes finished the week narrowly mixed. Small- and mid-cap indexes led the way, posting gains for the fifth consecutive week, while the Dow fell modestly. The S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite were down roughly 50bp for the week as investors continue to digest the White House's on again/off again trade policy, ongoing developments in AI technology, the Fed, and a long tail of 1Q earnings. However, we note that exactly one month after the White House's surprising decision to pause its week-old reciprocal tariffs, the S&P 500 now sits 835 points higher (+17%) than it was at its recent low seen back on April 7th. Stocks fell in the early part of the week but recovered some losses on Wednesday following reports that U.S. and Chinese officials plan to meet in Switzerland this weekend for trade discussions.
U.S. stocks finished the week higher, with the S&P 500 Index logging its 2nd consecutive week of gains for the 1st time since January and closing Friday with its 9th straight session in positive territory - its longest win streak since Nov 2004. It has erased all of the post-Liberation-Day losses. The string of news coming out this week was unequivocally positive, supporting the market recovery that we have seen since the bottom on Apr-9. The White House continued to unilaterally pull back on its tariff policies, introducing a partial exemption for US Auto makers that use imported auto parts. On the macro side, April Payrolls report (published on Friday) revealed a resilient labor market with non-farm payrolls rising 177k alongside an unchanged unemployment rate of 4.2%.
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