Saturday, May 23

The dominant story was a modest rebound in risk assets against a softer dollar and steadier rates, underscoring that positioning rather than new macro data is driving price action into a thin Friday session. The S&P 500 added around 0.4% to finish near 5,320, led by large-cap growth and communication services, while the Nasdaq 100 outperformed, rising roughly 0.6% on continued AI and megacap tech bid. The move came despite little fresh economic data, suggesting investors are leaning back into duration-sensitive, long-duration growth trades now that the sharp back-up in yields seen earlier this month has stalled.

In rates, the 10-year U.S. Treasury held near 4.45%, down a few basis points on the week after touching above 4.60% recently as markets absorbed hotter U.S. inflation prints and a strong run of activity data. That stabilization eased some of the pressure that had weighed on equities and credit, even as real yields remain elevated versus early-year levels. In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 was roughly flat as investors weighed firmer U.S. growth against a still-fragile euro area recovery, while the FTSE 100 slipped slightly, tracking a small pullback in energy and miners.

The dollar index edged lower, with the euro pushing modestly higher toward the mid‑$1.08s as markets priced in narrowing growth and rate differentials after recent U.S. outperformance. Brent crude traded around $82–83 a barrel, consolidating recent gains as supply concerns and ongoing geopolitical risk offset worries about demand normalization. Gold hovered near $2,350/oz, holding its role as a hedge against both sticky inflation and policy uncertainty with real yields off their recent peaks. Bitcoin traded sideways around the low‑$60,000s, with flows subdued as volatility compressed following earlier ETF-driven inflows and subsequent profit-taking.

Attention now turns to next week’s U.S. PCE inflation release, the Fed’s preferred gauge, because another upside surprise in core services would likely force markets to further scale back 2026 rate-cut expectations that have underpinned risk assets and the recent stabilization in longer-dated yields.