Market Recap • Week 21 2025

Highlights from the week of May 19 - 25, 2025

Equities took a breather this week, sparked by renewed fears of fiscal irresponsibility in the US and an escalation of Trump's trade war.

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Equities

America

• 🇺🇸 S&P 500 pulled back and lost 2.61% this week. However, the index is still up by 20% from the early-April bottom and less than 6% away from its all-time high.
• 🇺🇸 Nasdaq Composite slightly outperformed the S&P but still gave back 2.47% this week.
• 🇺🇸 Dow Jones Industrial dropped 2.47% in line with the Nasdaq.
• 🇺🇸 Russell 2000 underperformed its US peers and fell 3.47% on the week.
• 🇨🇦 TSX inched down by 0.35% for the week after nudging another all-time high on Tuesday.
• 🇲🇽 IPC gained 0.73% to a new all-time high weekly close.
• 🇧🇷 Bovespa fell 0.98% after setting a new record high earlier in the week.
• 🇦🇷 Merval rose 1.19% for the week.

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Europe

• 🇪🇺 STOXX 600 gave up 0.75% after a volatile week.
• 🇬🇧 FTSE 100 managed to eke out a 0.38% gain for the week as it inches closer to its prior all-time high.
• 🇩🇪 DAX fell 0.58% for the week after nudging a new all-time high on Friday before pulling back 1.54% on Trump’s EU tariff threat.
• 🇫🇷 CAC 40 dropped 1.93% for the week after a 1.65% fall on Friday.
• 🇩🇰 C25 managed to close the week virtually unchanged after some volatility.

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Asia

• 🇯🇵 Nikkei 225 fell 1.57% for the week after a massive rally over the past month and a half.
• 🇨🇳 Hang Seng gained another 1.1% this week and extended its rebound from early April to 22.5%.
• 🇨🇳 CSI 300 inched 0.18% lower for the week.
• 🇮🇳 Nifty 50 declined 0.67% for the week but closed well off of its intraweek lows.
• 🇰🇷 KOSPI fell 1.32% for the week.
• 🇹🇼 TSEC fell 0.88% for the week.

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Currencies & Commodities

• The DXY plummeted 1.86% on renewed fears of irresponsible fiscal policies in the US and the risk of a trade war between the EU and US. The move completely erased the last four weeks of gains.
• USD.EUR weakened 1.8% and is back below 0.88.
• USD.DKK fell 1.78% to 6.563 DKK.
• USD.GBP dropped 1.89% to a new 3-year low of 0.739.
• USD.JPY weakened by 2.11% to 142.551.
• USD.CNH declined 0.53% to its lowest level since November last year.
• Gold rallied 4.86% to $3,357 per ounce, its highest-ever weekly closing price. The move came on the back of a weaker dollar, higher bond yields, and general concerns about a trade war and government debt.
• Silver jumped 3.73% for the week to $33.48 per ounce.
• Copper surged 6.01% for the week.
• Bitcoin is up 1.8% for the week as of Saturday morning (CET), currently trading around $108,500 after reaching a new all-time high of $112,000 on Thursday.
• The altcoin market is lagging with a more modest 0.8% gain for the week. Binance Coin (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH) have outperformed with +2% gains while Ripple (XRP) has dragged the market down with a 3.6% loss.

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Bond yields

• 🇺🇸 The US 2-year yield closed unchanged for the week at 3.993%.
• 🇺🇸 The US 10-year yield on the other hand gained 1.44% for the week, now above 4.5% at its highest level since February.
• 🇺🇸 The US 30-year yield was the big mover this week, rallying 2.59% to +5% and its highest level since 2023. If it surpasses the 5.18% peak from 2023, we’re looking at an 18-year high.
• 🇪🇺 The Euro 2-year yield plummeted 5.66% for the week 1.767%.
• 🇪🇺 The Euro 10-year yield declined 0.92% for the week.
• 🇨🇳 The China 10-year yield gained 0.78% for the week but remains near historic lows.
• 🇨🇳 The China 30-year yield eked out a 0.32% gain for the week.

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Other

• The VIX surged 29.29% after having plummeted for six weeks straight. It’s now back above 22 after closing close to 17 last week.

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