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Surging oil prices and hotter inflation reports reignited rate-hike concerns, sending Treasury yields to one-year highs as the Iran conflict remained stalemated despite the highly anticipated Trump-Xi summit.
U.S. equity markets advanced for a fifth straight week - their longest winning streak since 2024 - as strong earnings, resilient data, and hopes for lasting Iran peace fueled optimism. Investors looked through another oil-price surge and inflationary pressure, focusing instead on corporate resilience and economic strength despite a complex macro backdrop shaped by geopolitical and policy uncertainty. The Fed held rates steady in an unusually fractured 8-4 vote, while Powell's plan to remain on the Board broke precedent and raised politically charged succession questions.
U.S. equities surged to record highs as optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz drove a risk-on rally, pushing oil sharply lower. Markets rapidly repriced the risk of a prolonged oil shock after the Strait of Hormuz reopened, easing fears of a major energy disruption that could have derailed global growth. Cooler-than-expected PPI data and a solid start to earnings season supported equities, though renewed threats to shipping traffic over the weekend underscored that progress toward de-escalation remains fragile.
U.S. equity markets snapped a five-week losing streak this week, while interest rates retreated, as resilient economic data pushed back against stagflation concerns amid a continuation of the Iran conflict. Major equity benchmarks rebounded sharply, with the S&P 500 gaining 3.4% and the Nasdaq 100 rising 4.0%, while real estate stocks outperformed as falling Treasury yields boosted rate-sensitive sectors. Treasury yields declined despite surging oil prices, breaking their recent correlation with crude, as investors weighed solid U.S. employment data against risks that higher energy costs could slow growth abroad.
U.S. equity markets fell for a fifth-straight week— pulling several major benchmarks into correction territory— as the Iran conflict remained locked in a volatile stalemate, keeping energy markets on edge. The fourth week of the Iran conflict delivered little progress toward de-escalation, as Washington maintained strikes on Iranian nuclear sites while Tehran continued retaliatory attacks across the Persian Gulf. The S&P 500 declined 2.1% this week and now sits 8.7% below its late-January record. The Dow and Nasdaq both entered "correction" territory, while the VIX volatility index topped 30.
U.S. equity markets fell for a fourth straight week, while interest rates jumped to eight-month highs, as continued turmoil in the Middle East rattled financial markets and revived inflation concerns. The third week of the Iran conflict settled into an uneasy equilibrium between escalation and de-escalation amid a continued standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, the key global energy chokepoint. The Federal Reserve - long bemoaning tariff-related inflation that failed to materialize - did little to calm markets, delivering a “hawkish hold” that pushed traders to price in rate hikes by year-end.
U.S. equities slid to four-month lows as the escalating Iran war rattled markets, sending oil to three-year highs and interest rates higher amid tanker attacks, shipping disruptions, and intensifying strikes. Brent Crude jumped above $100 as attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and tanker explosions threatened global oil flows, fueling inflation fears and keeping investors on edge. The White House deployed emergency supply measures—including Russian crude purchases and potential strategic reserve releases—but markets remain skeptical they can offset disruptions to global energy flows.
U.S. equities posted their worst week since October as a historic surge in oil prices fueled by the escalating Iran conflict rattled investor sentiment and revived inflation fears. While the U.S. continued to dominate the military balance over the past week, what remains of the Iranian regime is increasingly wounded and unpredictable, sowing chaos in global energy markets. Oil prices surged to the highest level since 2024 on concerns over long-term disruptions to the Hormuz Strait - the critical energy chokepoint that handles one-fifth of global oil trade.