The week ending May 8 belonged to the bulls. A firmer U.S. labor reading, broadly constructive earnings and a perceptible easing in Middle East tensions allowed risk assets to extend a rally that has now run six consecutive weeks — the longest such streak since 2024. The tone, however, was not uniformly euphoric. Oil retreated sharply, the dollar softened, and bond markets struggled to find clear direction as investors looked past softer growth concerns and toward next week's U.S. inflation print.

Equities

In the United States, the S&P 500 closed at 7,398.93, a fresh record, gaining 2.3 percent over the five sessions. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 4.5 percent to 26,247.08, with technology shares supported by continued enthusiasm around artificial-intelligence capital expenditure; Micron Technology and Sandisk were among the leaders. Sentiment was reinforced by Friday's April payrolls report, which showed 115,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate steady at 4.3 percent, easing fears of an abrupt cooling in the labor market.

Europe traded with less conviction. The STOXX Europe 600 eked out modest gains in local-currency terms, helped early in the week by improving geopolitics and resilient corporate results. Germany's DAX added 0.19 percent while France's CAC 40 ended broadly flat, as President Trump's threat of "much higher" tariffs on European goods, unless Brussels moved to zero duties on U.S. imports, clouded the closing sessions. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stood out with a 5.38 percent weekly advance, closing at 62,713, supported by stronger U.S. demand signals and a still-weak yen. Hong Kong's Hang Seng pushed to a nine-week high mid-week, around 26,626, as investors rotated back into Alibaba, Tencent and other internet and AI-related names.

Rates & Credit

In rates, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield finished the week at 4.38 percent, with Friday's payrolls report nudging it 5.2 basis points higher. The German 10-year Bund hovered around 3.0 percent, oscillating with each shift in expectations about the European Central Bank's path; French OATs moved broadly in line. Credit markets remained well bid: investment-grade option-adjusted spreads stood near 80 basis points and U.S. high-yield spreads near 285 — both close to historical tights, leaving carry attractive but the margin of safety thin.

Foreign Exchange

The dollar lost ground as safe-haven flows ebbed. EUR/USD climbed to 1.1784, its highest since late April, while USD/JPY traded down to around 156.63, the yen also benefiting from suspected Tokyo intervention after the pair briefly traded above 160. The Swiss franc firmed, with USD/CHF easing to 0.7761. Sterling held a softer tone earlier in the period before stabilizing. In emerging markets, broad dollar weakness offered relief to higher-yielders, with the Mexican peso and Brazilian real among the better performers, though moves were modest into the weekend.

Commodities & Gold

Crude oil was the week's notable laggard. Brent fell roughly 7 percent to about $101 a barrel and WTI to near $95, as a fragile U.S.–Iran ceasefire and more constructive negotiation rhetoric reduced the geopolitical premium. Gold, by contrast, edged 2.2 percent higher to roughly $4,720 an ounce, supported by softer real yields and persistent reserve buying. Copper added more than 3 percent to about $6.10 a pound, reaching a multi-month high on improving demand sentiment and ongoing supply concerns.

The Week Ahead

Attention turns squarely to U.S. April CPI on Tuesday, with consensus pointing to a 0.6 percent monthly headline gain and a 3.7 percent annual rate; core is seen at 0.3 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. PPI, retail sales and weekly jobless claims follow, alongside flash first-quarter GDP prints from the euro area and the United Kingdom. Earnings from Cisco, Walmart, Applied Materials and Alibaba will test the AI-and-consumer narrative that has powered recent gains. Geopolitical headlines — Middle East diplomacy and U.S.–EU trade rhetoric — remain the wildcards.