Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 5/23/2025

• US Equity Markets pulled back last week, as rates hit multi-month highs amid debt concerns and President Trump's threat of higher tariffs against Europe. The S&P 500 fell 2.6% for the week and is now down 1.3% for the year. The Nasdaq declined 2.5% for the week to bring its losses for the year to down 3.0%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) dropped 3.5% for the week and is now down 8.5% for the year.

• Global Equity Markets were mixed last week with China announcing rate cuts and more unease around tariffs in Europe. Developed Markets were up 1.3% for the week and are now up 13.5% for the year. Emerging Markets ticked down 0.2% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 8.9%.

• US Interest Rates Rose last week following the downgrade of US debt. Moody's became the third credit rating against to downgrade the US from its pristine AAA rating, pushing rates higher. The yield on the US 10-Year Treasury hit 4.60% last week, its highest level since February, before closing the week at 4.51% vs. 4.48% the prior week. Investors currently expect the Fed to cut rates twice by the end of the year.

• A weak US Treasury auction raised questions about confidence in the US outlook. The 20-Year Treasury Bond auction last week resulted in a yield of 5.05%, the second highest yield (October 2023) since their re-introduction in 2020 and up 0.25% from the auction in April. This appears to be due to lower demand, which came in as the second weakest over the past year. Is the bond market trying to tell Congress and the Trump Administration that there are issues with the current budget and tax legislation being discussed?

Market Data

for the week ending 5/23/2025