Market Update

A major cloud hanging over US monetary leadership has lifted after authorities moved to end an investigation into Jerome Powell, removing a key obstacle that had delayed a potential transition at the top of the Federal Reserve.The inquiry had centered on Powell’s congressional testimony regarding cost overruns tied to the …

Key Takeaways First weekly gain in three: The U.S. dollar is on course for its first weekly advance in three weeks, buoyed by safe-haven flows amid the U.S.-Iran standoff. Index steady: The dollar index held broadly flat at 98.80, with the euro unchanged at $1.1686 and the British pound ticking …

Key Takeaways Modest pullback, strong week: Bitcoin slipped 0.3% to $77,794.4 but remains on track for a 4% weekly gain — its fourth straight weekly advance. Institutional appetite surges: U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted nearly $1 billion in net inflows over the past week, one of the strongest weekly hauls …

Key Takeaways Flagship launch: DeepSeek unveiled preview versions of its new open-source V4 model, featuring enhanced reasoning and performance capabilities. Two-tier lineup: DeepSeek-V4-Pro packs a massive 1.6 trillion parameters, while the leaner V4-Flash runs on 284 billion parameters — both with a 1 million-token context window. Text-only for now: The …

Key Takeaways Stock soars: Intel shares jumped more than 22% in Friday’s premarket trading after the chipmaker delivered a blockbuster earnings beat and upbeat guidance. Guidance crushes estimates: Intel forecasts Q2 2026 EPS of $0.20 (vs. $0.09 consensus) and revenue between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion (vs. $13.04 billion expected). …

Key Takeaways Broad-based slide: The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.4%, with Germany’s DAX down 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 off 0.4%, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 losing 0.4%. Fragile ceasefires: Trump’s three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon truce faces doubts after Hezbollah was excluded from the talks, while the indefinite U.S.-Iran ceasefire …

Key Takeaways Gold under pressure: Spot gold slipped 0.5% to $4,672.22/oz, with prices on track for a steep 3% weekly loss as the dollar surged to its best week since early March. Silver and platinum hit harder: Silver plunged nearly 8% for the week to $74.483/oz, while platinum shed 5.4% …

Key Takeaways Headline beat: UK retail sales jumped 0.7% month-on-month in March, dramatically outperforming the 0.1% gain analysts had forecast. Annual strength: Year-on-year retail sales climbed 1.7%, comfortably above the 1.3% expected by the market. Excluding fuel: Monthly sales excluding fuel edged up 0.2%, topping predictions of no change from …

Key Takeaways Prices climb: Brent crude rose 1.1% to $106.27/barrel; WTI gained 1% to $96.83/barrel, with both benchmarks set to end the week 15%–18% higher. Trump’s tough line: The president said he’s in “no rush” to reach a deal with Iran, while ruling out nuclear weapons and claiming U.S. strikes …

Defense stocks are facing a rough week, with investor confidence shaken in their role as safe havens. Lockheed Martin’s disappointing earnings report has amplified concerns and sent shockwaves across the sector. Earnings Under PressureLockheed Martin’s first-quarter results revealed a sharp setback. Revenue held steady at $18.0 billion compared to last …