Source: Wall Street Journal.

Concerns over tariffs and disappointing corporate earnings reports have dampened market sentiment, leaving investors facing an increasingly bleak outlook for the global economy. The "Triple Witching Day" has added uncertainty to the market. A large number of Options expiring have exacerbated market volatility and led to a surge in Volume. In Friday's early trading, FedEx and Nike, which provided poor earnings guidance, along with Micron Technology, which had mixed guidance, saw significant declines, dragging down the Large Cap.

The market is paying attention to the speeches of Federal Reserve officials. Fed's dove, Goolsbee, stated, 'The hard economic data is strong', while using the terms 'stagflation' and 'temporary'. Analysts believe that these remarks scared the stock market, exacerbating the downward trend of the three major U.S. stock indexes at the start of the session. Fed Governor Waller explained the reason for casting the sole dissenting vote in March's meeting, that is, the U.S. bank reserves are above adequate levels. The 'New Fed Communication' indicates that the Fed's forecast points to 'stagflation'.

However, Trump's remarks 'saved' the U.S. stock market. Earlier reports indicated that France proposed to use the EU's most powerful tool, the 'anti-coercion tool', against Trump's tariff threats, causing the euro to drop briefly. However, Trump later stated that there would be flexibility in the reciprocal tariff plan, saying, 'Flexibility is because tariffs are reciprocal.'

After Trump's speech, the three major U.S. stock indexes, which had each fallen over 1% earlier, further narrowed their losses and eventually turned to gains by the end of the session, closing slightly up. Thanks to Friday's rebound, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq successfully reversed the cumulative downward trend this week, avoiding a fifth consecutive week of decline, which would have marked the longest losing streak in nearly three years.

Powell and Trump took turns 'saving' the U.S. stock market, resulting in a rollercoaster rebound for the S&P 500 this week. On Wednesday, Powell 'rescued the market', with the S&P achieving the largest single-day gain for a Fed decision in nine billion. After Trump's speech on Friday, all three major stock indexes turned up by the end of the session, wiping out the earlier over 1% decline, allowing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to turn positive for the week, ending four weeks of consecutive declines. Boeing, which secured a large order for the next-generation U.S. fighter jets, rose over 3%, leading the gains in the Dow components.

The three major US stock indices saw an overall increase.

• The S&P 500 Index closed up by 0.08%, with a total increase of 0.51% for the week.

• The Dow closed up by 0.08%, with a total increase of 1.20% for the week.

• The Nasdaq closed up by 0.52%, with a total increase of 0.17% for the week.

• The Nasdaq 100 closed up by 0.39%, with a total increase of 0.25% for the week.

• The Nasdaq Technology Market Cap Weighted Index (NDXTMC), which measures the performance of components in the Nasdaq 100 technology industry, closed up by 0.45%, with a total decline of 0.16% for the week.

• The Russell 2000 Small Cap Index closed down by 0.56%, with a total increase of 0.64% for the week.

• The VIX fear index closed down by 2.58% at 19.29, with a total decline of 11.39% for the week.

  
  

The performance of US industry ETFs was mixed.

• On Friday, the Penghua Guozheng Semiconductor Chip ETF fell by 1%, leading the decline among various Industry ETFs in the USA. This week, Energy, Internet stocks, and Aviation ETFs rose at least 1%, with the Energy ETF increasing more than 3% for two consecutive weeks.

Among the 'Technology Seven Sisters', only NVIDIA fell on Friday:

• The Magnificent 7 Index rose by about 1.1%, with a cumulative decline of approximately 0.4% this week; the 'Trump Tariff Losers' Index rose by about 0.1%, with a cumulative gain of about 0.8% this week.

• On Friday, Tesla rose by 5.25%, Apple by 1.95%, Meta by 1.75%, Microsoft by 1.14%, Google A by 0.73%, Amazon by 0.65%, and NVIDIA fell by 0.70%.

• This week, NVIDIA had a cumulative decline of 3.26%, Meta fell by 1.87%, marking the fifth consecutive week of decline, Google A fell by 0.91%, and Amazon experienced a cumulative decline of 0.88%.

• This week, Tesla had a cumulative decline of 0.53%, marking its ninth consecutive week of decline, while Microsoft rose by a cumulative 0.69%, and Apple had a cumulative rise of 2.24% this week, after experiencing three consecutive weeks of decline.

Most chip stocks declined.

• The PHLX Semiconductor Index closed down 0.94%, accumulating a decline of 0.89% this week. NVIDIA's two-times leveraged ETF fell by 1.52%. Wolfspeed increased by 9.58%.

• Micron Technology fell 8.04%. The company's Q2 datacenter revenue doubled, Q3 revenue guidance exceeded expectations, but gross margin guidance was below expectations.

AI concept stocks showed mixed performance.

• Super Micro Computer rose by 7.8%, Palantir increased by 4.09%, while BullFrog AI fell by 2.22%.

China Concept Stocks fell broadly.

• The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 1.73%, with a cumulative decline of 2.31% this week. The FTSE A50 index futures closed up 0.17% in the overnight session.

• Among the ETFs, the FTSE China 3x Bull ETF (YINN) fell by 5.44%, the China Technology Index ETF (CQQQ) fell by 2.37%, and the China Concept Internet Index ETF (KWEB) fell by 1.98%.

• Among the popular China Concept Stocks, Yatsen fell by 13.33%, Kingsoft Cloud dropped by 6.37%, PDD Holdings declined by 3.27%, and Xiaomi Group ADR fell by 3.06%.

• MINISO dropped by 8.9%, with Q4 revenue increasing by 22.7% year-on-year, and the gross margin reaching a record high, as overseas stores surpassed 3,000.

• Meituan ADR fell by 5.11%, with profits nearly doubling, Q4 core business performing strongly, and new business losses narrowing, while expansion in the Middle East market is intensifying.

• NIO's US stock dropped by 4.46%, with the company reporting a 15.2% year-on-year revenue growth in Q4, while the annual net loss was 22.4 billion yuan.

Other key stocks include.

• FedEx fell by 6.45%, as the company lowered its full-year earnings guidance and capital expenditure expectations.

• Boeing rose by 3.06%, as Trump stated that Russia and Ukraine would soon have a comprehensive ceasefire, with the sixth-generation fighter jet being produced by Boeing.

• The Indonesian government hinted at considering raising mining royalties for government finances, leading to declines in US and Indonesian mining stocks. McEwen Mining fell by 8.27%, and Ero Copper dropped by 3.04%.

The policy decisions of multiple central banks have raised market concerns, leading to a broad decline in European stocks on Friday. The basic resources sector fell by 2.3%, leading the decline. Due to a fire at a nearby substation, Heathrow Airport was forced to close, causing a sharp drop of 1.6% in the Travel & Leisure sector:

European stocks:

• The pan-European STOXX 600 Index closed down 0.60%, having surged and then retreated this week, ultimately gaining 0.56%.

• The eurozone STOXX 50 Index closed down 0.50%, having surged and then retreated this week, ultimately gaining 0.36%.

• The German stock index closed down 0.47%, dropping 0.41% this week. The French stock index closed down 0.63%, gaining 0.18% this week.

• The Italian stock index closed down 0.39%, gaining 0.98% this week. The UK stock index closed down 0.63%, gaining 0.17% this week. The Spanish stock index rose 0.33%, accumulating a gain of 2.65% this week.

After the Federal Reserve released its decision statement on Wednesday, the two-year US Treasury yield has declined for three consecutive days, dropping more than 7 basis points this week. The Bank of England has adopted a hawkish stance, causing UK bond yields to rise this week, marking three weeks of consecutive increases.

US Treasury:

• The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury rose by 0.93 basis points to 4.2462%, a cumulative drop of 6.59 basis points this week.

• The two-year US Treasury yield fell by 1.56 basis points to 3.9481%, with a cumulative drop of 7.11 basis points this week.

European bonds:

• At the end of the European market, the German 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield fell by 1.5 basis points to 2.765%, with a cumulative drop of 11.0 basis points this week.

• The two-year German Treasury yield fell by 3.9 basis points to 2.132%, with a cumulative drop of 5.3 basis points this week.

• The UK 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield rose by 6.7 basis points to 4.712%, accumulating a 4.7 basis points increase this week.

• The 2-Year UK Bond Yield increased by 2.6 basis points to 4.265%, accumulating an 8.3 basis points increase this week.

• The France 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield dropped by 10.4 basis points this week. The Italy 10-Year Treasury Notes Yield fell by 11.9 basis points this week.

The USD has risen for three consecutive days, reaching a two-week high and marking the first weekly increase this month. Investors took profits on the recent rise of the euro ahead of the April 2 U.S. tariff deadline, causing the euro to drop by 0.33%. The offshore RMB fell by over a hundred points during the day, breaking below 7.26, reaching a new low in over a week. Bitcoin dropped over a thousand dollars, falling below the $0.084 million mark.

USD:

• At the close in New York, the ICE USD Index rose by 0.22% to 104.075 points, accumulating a 0.34% increase this week.

• The Bloomberg USD Index increased by 0.24% to 1270.92 points, accumulating a 0.41% increase this week.

Non-USD currencies:

• At the New York close, the Euro fell by 0.33% against the USD, reported at 1.0816, with a cumulative decline of 0.58% this week.

• The British Pound fell by 0.38% against the USD, reported at 1.2918, with a cumulative decline of 0.14% this week.

• The USD rose by 0.15% against the Swiss Franc, reported at 0.8832, with a cumulative decline of 0.22% this week.

• Among commodity currencies, the Australian Dollar fell by 0.50%, with a cumulative decline of 0.83% this week.

• The New Zealand Dollar fell by 0.44%, with a cumulative decline of 0.30% this week.

• The USD rose by 0.18% against the Canadian Dollar, with a cumulative decline of 0.08% this week.

Yen:

• At the end of the New York trading session, the USD rose 0.36% against the Japanese Yen, reaching 149.32 yen, accumulating an increase of 0.47% for the week.

Offshore Renminbi:

• The offshore Chinese Yuan (CNH) fell 49 points against the USD compared to Tuesday's New York close, trading at 7.2571 yuan, with overall daily trading within the Range of 7.2465-7.2602 yuan.

Cryptos:

• At the end of the New York trading session, the market cap leader Bitcoin remained roughly unchanged, priced at 84,185.00 USD, with a weekly decrease of 0.77%.

• The second-largest Ethereum dropped 0.20% at the end, priced at 1,975.00 USD, with a weekly increase of 2.41%.

On Friday, the Suja natural gas measurement station was attacked, with Russia and Ukraine each asserting their claims. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the ongoing situation in the Middle East continue to escalate, leading to a three-day rise in Crude Oil Product prices, increasing for two consecutive weeks, with Brent Oil hitting a new high for this month.

West Texas Intermediate: WTI May crude oil futures closed up $0.21, an increase of nearly 0.31%, at $68.28 per barrel, with a cumulative increase of nearly 2.05% for the week.

Brent: Brent May crude oil futures closed up $0.16, with an increase of 0.22%, at $72.16 per barrel, and a cumulative increase of about 2.24% for the week.

On the 21st, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced that a criminal investigation was initiated regarding the destruction of the gas measurement station in Suja, Kursk Oblast, by Ukrainian forces on the 20th. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the 21st that the Ukrainian forces destroyed the facility while retreating from Kursk Oblast, and this act is seen as a deliberate provocation against Russian energy infrastructure, aimed at undermining the initiatives proposed by the USA.

The US delegation plans to meet with the Ukrainian side on Sunday and will then meet with the Russian side in Riyadh on Monday.

Natural Gas:

• US April natural gas futures closed up over 0.12%, at $3.9800 per million British thermal units, with a cumulative decrease of 3.02% for the week.

• TTF benchmark Dutch natural gas futures fell by 1.14%, at €42.410 per megawatt hour, with a cumulative increase of 0.41% for the week.

• ICE UK natural gas futures fell by 0.91%, reaching 103.380 pence/kcal, down 0.5% this week.

Gold fell from its intraday record high on Friday, at one point dropping over 1%, but has increased for three consecutive weeks. New York copper futures rose more than 4% this week. London copper has two consecutive bearish days, yet has also risen for three weeks.

Gold:

• COMEX gold futures dropped by 0.49%, quoted at $3028.70/oz, accumulating a rise of 0.92% this week, having refreshed the intraday historical high to $3065.20 on Thursday during early Asia-Pacific trading.

• Spot gold fell by 0.71% at the close, priced at $3023.25/oz, accumulating an increase of 1.31% this week. From Monday to Thursday, it continued to fluctuate upward, refreshing its historical high to $3057.49.

  
  

Silver:

• COMEX silver futures fell 1.69%, trading at $33.545 per ounce, with a cumulative decline of 2.56% for the week.

• Spot Silver fell by 1.68% at the end of the trading session, closing at $33.0280 per ounce, with a cumulative decline of 2.26% for the week.

Most London Industrial Metals closed lower on Friday, with London Cobalt experiencing a cumulative decline of about 7.1% this week:

• LME Copper futures fell by $81, with a cumulative increase of nearly 0.78% for the week. COMEX Copper Futures fell by 0.10%, closing at $5.1080 per pound, with a cumulative increase of 4.63% for the week.

• LME Aluminum futures fell by $37 this week, with a cumulative decline of about 2.24%. LME Zinc futures rose by $10, with a cumulative decline of 1.48% for the week.

• LME Lead futures fell by $40, with a cumulative decline of more than 2.51% for the week. LME Nickel futures fell by $227, with a cumulative decline of about 2.51% for the week.

• LME Tin futures fell by $861, with a cumulative decline of about 2.25%. LME Cobalt futures remained flat, with a cumulative decline of about 7.08% for the week.

Editor/jayden