Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 9/19/2025

• US Equity Markets rose last week, cheering the Fed rate cuts and commentary that more rate cuts could be forthcoming. The S&P 500 was up 1.2% for the week, again hitting record highs, and is now up 13.3% for the year. The Nasdaq rose 2.2% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 17.2%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) rallied 2.2% for the week and is now up 9.8% for the year.

• Ongoing strength in Asian markets pushed Global Equity Markets higher last week, as positive inflation data allowed the Bank of Japan to keep rates steady. Developed Markets ticked up 0.1% for the week and are now up 22.2% for the year. Emerging Markets increased 1.2% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 24.7%.

• Interest Rates increased despite the expected Fed rate cut. The Fed announced a widely expected 0.25% cut in the Fed Funds rate at its meeting last week and indicated it expects to cut rates by another 0.25% at each of its meetings in October and December. In response, interest rates actually rose slightly, highlighting that rate cuts were already well-priced into the market. The yield on the US 10-Year Treasury closed at 4.13% vs. 4.07% the prior week.

• Tax cuts now exceed collections from tariffs. With September 15th an important quarterly tax day for corporations, we were surprised to learn that corporate tax payments fell by ~$104 billion due to tax savings from the One Big Beautiful Bill, while collections from tariffs have risen $94 billion year-to-date. That could be stimulative to the US economy as the tax benefits offset any margin pressures from tariffs and provide resources for firms that had been slowing their hiring.

Market Data

for the week ending 9/19/2025