Market Wrap
Weekly
S&P500: +3.51% FTSE 100: +1.58% Gold: +0.57%
Year-to-date
S&P500: -6.97% FTSE 100: +1.77% Gold: +22.54%
Data accurate as at time of sending this briefing
The S&P 500 moved higher this week, largely driven by a rebound on Wednesday after President Trump eased tensions with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, stating he had no intention of firing Powell. Trump’s earlier attacks on Powell had caused sharp drops in US equities and the US dollar. Trump also mentioned that China tariffs could drop “substantially”, raising hopes for a de-escalation in the US-China trade war, which helped boost investor sentiment and lift markets.
Across the Atlantic, there was another reminder that the UK economy continues to struggle, with April’s PMI data (a report showing the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors, indicating overall economic activity) revealing a first drop in private output in 1.5 years. This soft performance can be attributed to the impact of global trade anxieties, as companies expressed concerns about the economic outlook due to US tariffs. Services exports were notably impacted, despite tariffs primarily targeting goods, suggesting that business confidence has been hit across the board. This contributed to the slight underperformance of the FTSE 100 compared to the S&P 500.
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