Evening Market Recap - Monday, 12-May

US equities finished notably higher in Monday trading, ending near best levels. Risk assets were boosted by a meaningful de-escalation of US-China trade tensions following weekend talks in Switzerland. It was also busy from a political headline perspective outside of trade.

US equities were mixed this week after putting in a strong performance last week when the S&P reached levels above the early April drop following Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement. Stocks were mostly lower this week on the heels of a recent nine-day S&P 500 winning streak, though losses were partially limited by some positive trade and tariff developments with a focus on de-escalation. Meanwhile, the May FOMC meeting ended with a hold at 4.25-4.5%, as expected.

US equities were higher in Thursday trading, though stocks ended off best levels as the market shed some of its gains in late afternoon weakness. Stocks were underpinned by the latest developments on trade, as the US and UK announced a framework agreement. Meanwhile, Initial jobless claims were down 13K w/w to 228K, in line with consensus.

US equities were higher in very choppy Wednesday trading, a bit off session highs, with the Dow Jones, S&P500, and Nasdaq closing up 70bps, 43bps, and 27bps respectively. FOMC takeaways were mixed, noting the bank is attentive to fears on both sides of its dual mandate though market still pricing in a slightly more dovish Fed outlook. Trump administration is planning to rescind chip curbs and will not enforce Biden-era AI diffusion rule. Bloomberg reported about Apple exploring AI search for its browser causing shares of Alphabet to slump.

US equities were lower in Tuesday trading, though stocks ended a bit off worst levels. S&P 500 finished down for second-straight day. Trade headlines somewhat mixed. March trade balance more negative than expected at record $140.5B.

US equities were mostly lower in Monday trading, though stocks ended off worst levels. It was a very quiet session with VIX back near pre-Liberation Day levels, volume muted, and limited catalysts in coming weeks. In macro news, April ISM Services came in above estimates, its highest since February 2024.

US equities were higher for the week. Big tech was mostly higher. This week's market mood was helped by further signs of deescalating trade/tariff tensions.  China said it was "evaluating" recent US overtures. ISM manufacturing was firmer than consensus.

US equities finished higher in Thursday trading, though ended near session lows after coming off in the last minutes of trading. Big tech earnings and cap-ex guides were the big tailwind today with renewed support for the AI secular growth narrative. In macro news, April’s ISM manufacturing was better than feared at 48.7, ahead of the 48.1 consensus, though still down from March's 49.0.

US equities finished mixed in Wednesday trading, coming well off worst levels from the early session and seeing a sharp rally in the closing minutes. Big story today was the soft Q1 GDP report showing economy contracted for the first time since early 2022. ADP private payrolls of 62K missed. GDP price index of 3.5% hotter than estimates. Core PCE price index up 3.5%.

S&P logged its sixth straight gain, extending its longest winning streak of the year. Tariff relief for autos and auto parts was the big story. April consumer confidence dropped to 86.0, lowest since spring 2020.