Last week, markets traded slightly weaker, with the S&P 500 down 0.24% and Nasdaq 0.53% lower. In the fixed income space, we saw Treasury bond yields 4-6 basis points lower, while credit spreads followed the trend, finishing 1-2 basis points tighter.
We had a busy week that started with the postponement of US tariffs against Mexico and Canada, at least for a month. The market reading was very positive, although this week the 10% tariffs against China are kicking off.
On the US macro front, the data was mixed, with weaker-than-expected services prints and overall supportive job data. Although payroll came in softer than expected, last month's revision was strong and the unemployment rate came out at 4.0%, lower than expected.
Another highlight was the Big Tech sector earnings season, where the results were positive on average but the overall guidance was disappointing. The sector continues to face scrutiny after the Chinese AI company DeepSeek disrupted US equity markets last month by launching a chatbot that appears to rival ChatGPT's performance, but with lower costs and less advanced chips.
