Last Week's Recap
The US Market - Markets slipped as Trump unleashed new tariff wave
Friday’s losses dragged the major indexes into negative territory for the week, despite the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching fresh record highs on Thursday. Shortly after the market closed Thursday, President Trump announced a 35% tariff on Canadian imports and hinted at broader tariffs across multiple sectors and countries.
A wave of new tariff measures, including levies on copper and products from dozens of countries, introduced policy uncertainty. However, the market reaction was muted due to delayed implementation timelines and investor confidence in resilient global demand.
FOMC minutes confirmed internal Fed division: some policymakers favored July rate cuts (like Waller, Bowman), while others leaned to hold into September. Chair Powell adopted a “data-driven” stance, signaling no rush to cut rates amid persistent inflation above 2% and moderate labor weakening.
Bitcoin briefly surged to a new high of $120,000 on Friday before pulling back slightly. U.S. copper prices spiked following Trump's proposed 50% tariff, widening the gap with international benchmarks. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to around 4.42%, and the U.S. dollar strengthened modestly amid rising tariff concerns. The VIX remained flat at 16.4, hovering near multi-month lows.
The US Sectors & Stocks - NVDA topped $4 trillion market cap
The energy sector led the S&P 500 with a 1.6% weekly gain, fueled by rising oil prices amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Industrials followed with a 0.5% increase, while consumer defensive (-1.8%) and financials (-1.5%) sectors lagged.
Nvidia (NVDA) hit the historic $4 trillion valuation mark, reinforcing its dominance in the AI race. Despite U.S. export restrictions affecting sales of its H20 chips in China, CEO Jensen Huang’s upcoming mid-July visit to Beijing signals plans to launch a localized Blackwell RTX version, boosting confidence in long-term global demand.
Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high Friday, lifting Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares by nearly 9% and 8%, respectively. Coinbase also completed its acquisition of the Opyn DeFi protocol leadership team.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) soared 11% after reporting earnings that topped expectations. The company highlighted stable demand and strong revenue momentum heading into the summer. United Airlines (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL) also posted double-digit gains for the week.
CoreWeave (CRWV) announced a $9 billion all-stock acquisition of Core Scientific (CORZ). CRWV shares tumbled 23% on dilution concerns, while CORZ dropped 30% amid exposure to volatility in CoreWeave stock.
MP Materials (MP) rocketed 40% after securing a $400 million investment from the U.S. Department of Defense to build a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain, including preferred stock and warrant agreements.
Levi Strauss (LEVI) jumped nearly 15% after posting strong Q2 results, raising its full-year outlook, and hiking its dividend.
Moderna (MRNA) rose 10% after the FDA approved its Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to 11 years at higher risk, expanding its pediatric reach.
Hong Kong Market - HSI rallied 1%
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) rose nearly 1% last week, buoyed by investor optimism ahead of a key Politburo meeting later this month. Market sentiment was lifted by expectations of stronger stimulus measures, as China's June Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 3.6% year-over-year, reinforcing concerns about entrenched deflation and policy action to support growth.
Wuxi AppTec (2359.HK) jumped 10% to HK$88.15 after the company projected its first-half profit would more than double from a year earlier, driven by strong demand across its global pharmaceutical services.
A Goldman Sachs report issued a cautionary note on China’s e-commerce sector, forecasting intensified competition through September and warning of steep delivery-related losses for major players. The investment bank estimates Alibaba (9988.HK) could face 41 billion yuan in losses, JD.com (9618.HK) about 26 billion yuan, and Meituan (3690.HK) may see its EBIT decline by 25 billion yuan over the next 12 months.
Singapore Market - STI hit a new high
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 1.85% for the week, closing at a record high of 4,087.81 on July 11. This marked the first time the STI has closed above 4,000 for three consecutive sessions. Year-to-date, the STI is up approximately 6–7%.
Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68) advanced 1.9% after reporting a record-breaking year for commodities and securities turnover in June, underscoring strong investor participation and trading activity.
Real estate and REITs were standout performers this week, buoyed by falling bond yields, which enhanced the relative attractiveness of income-generating assets. City Developments surged toward S$5.40, while UOL Group approached its 52-week high of S$6.50, supported by solid demand and favorable valuations in the property sector.
Australian Market - ASX dipped amid RBA surprises
The Australian stock market had a volatile week, with the ASX 200 slipping 0.27% overall. On Friday, the benchmark briefly broke above the key 8600 level, but gave up gains to end the session down 0.1% at 8580.1. Sentiment was shaken after RBA surprised markets by holding interest rates steady at 3.85%, defying expectations of a cut.
Mining and material stocks rallied strongly after Donald Trump reignited trade concerns, saying he plans to impose blanket tariffs of 15% to 20% on most U.S. trading partners.
Macquarie Group Limited (ASX: MQG) declined 3.62% for the week. The investment bank triggered investor unease with a series of REIT sector rating changes, including downgrades for Vicinity Centres and Charter Hall Retail REIT, while upgrading Region Group. These adjustments reflect a more cautious near-term outlook on commercial real estate, weighing on sentiment across the property sector.
The Week Ahead
Macro Factors - Inflation data take center stage
This week, markets face a busier macro calendar, with several key economic indicators that could shape expectations ahead of the Federal Reserve’s late-July policy meeting.
June Consumer Price Index (CPI) headlines the calendar on Tuesday. Economists expect headline CPI to rise 2.6% year-over-year, up from 2.4% in May. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, is projected at 2.9%, a slight uptick from the prior 2.8%.
Producer Price Index (PPI) follows on Wednesday, with consensus looking for a 2.5% annual gain in the headline figure and a 2.7% rise in the core measure — both slightly cooler than May’s readings.
Moreover, the Census Bureau will report retail sales data on Thursday, while the Federal Reserve releases the beige book for the fifth of eight times this year.
Earnings - Banks kick off the earnings season
A flurry of second-quarter earnings reports will roll out, led by financials and key names in technology, consumer, and industrials.
Major U.S. banks — including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC) — are set to report. With Wells Fargo recently freed from decade-long regulatory constraints, investor attention will focus on guidance for IPO and M&A activity, loan growth, and credit conditions.
Netflix (NFLX) will kick off Big Tech earnings. Meanwhile, ASML and TSMC results are highly anticipated for insight into the AI-driven chip cycle, following Nvidia's massive rally. PepsiCo (PEP), United (UAL), and American Express (AXP) are among the other notable firms set to release their quarterly results.
According to FactSet, S&P 500 earnings are expected to grow 4.6% year-over-year in Q2 — the slowest pace since Q4 2023. But even more important will be the insights that companies give as to how their business is looking going in to the back half of 2025.
Investors are also trying to figure out which companies can best weather the tariff fallout, and whether inflation was held back in the first half by companies that ordered surplus supplies of imported in the first quarter to avoid higher tariffs. Also key for investors will be capital expenditure investment, especially in tech. If companies are spending on future growth, that would boost investor confidence in the broader market.
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