US equities enjoyed strong upwards momentum last week with both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ scaling fresh record levels. A combination of factors contributed to the positivity in investor sentiment including a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East and trade progress between China and the US. 

The S&P 500 added +3.4% over the course of the week (in dollar terms) to top the previous record level set back in February. It’s been an incredible ride for US equities since President Trump’s inauguration with initial euphoria replaced by chaos in the wake of the “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in early April. But the S&P has rallied by more than +20.0% since those depths which is quite the turnaround given the relatively small amount of time that has passed. As for US treasury yields, dovish comments from several key Federal Reserve (Fed) officials prompted a modest retracement with the 10-year shedding 10 basis points (bps) to 4.27%[1].

It wasn’t just US equities that posted solid gains last week. Japanese markets also bounced strongly, the Nikkei 225 jumping by +4.6% (in yen terms) with the index’s technology stocks amongst the best performers. Meanwhile in China, the Shanghai Composite advanced by +1.9% (local currency), reflective of the positive trade announcement with the US. Moving to Europe, the MSCI Europe ex UK rose by +1.6% with German equities particularly strong on expectations of a significant ramp up in spending on defence. UK equities were somewhat more muted, the FTSE 100 concluding the week just +0.3% higher.

In the commodities world, the ceasefire announcement between Iran and Israel prompted a sharp sell-off in oil with Brent Crude, which had at one point moved above $80 a barrel on Monday, recording a weekly decline of -12.1% to $68. Gold also retreated with the precious metal falling by -2.8% to $3,273 an ounce reflecting the improvement in broader market sentiment.

Week Ahead

Source: Workspace DataStream, 30/06/2025

[1] T.Rowe Price – Global Markets Weekly Update, 30/06/25

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