# Weekly Market Recap – Week ending Friday, 9 May 2025
With cash markets shut for the weekend, the dust has settled on a directionless but event‑packed five‑day stretch. Central‑bank inaction, mixed macro surprises and a renewed bid for hard assets defined trading: U.S. equities treaded water, European cyclicals caught a bid, oil reclaimed the upper end of its two‑month range and the U.S. dollar slipped against high‑beta majors. Below is a concise breakdown of the moves and the calendar highlights that framed them.
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## Indices
Global equity benchmarks ended the week of **5–9 May** on a mixed note. Friday’s session was quiet in New York but constructive in Europe and Asia‑Pacific, helping most bourses trim earlier losses. Percentage figures refer to **Friday‑on‑Friday performance**; closing levels are shown where available.
– **United States**
– **Dow Jones** −0.29 % day / −0.16 % week (**41 249**)
– **S&P 500** −0.07 % / −0.47 % (**5 660**)
– **Nasdaq‑100** 0.00 % / −0.27 % (**17 929**)
*Fed snapshot:* the FOMC left the target range at 4.50 % on 7 May. Monday’s stronger‑than‑forecast **ISM Services PMI (51.6 vs 50.6)** reinforced expectations that cuts will be pushed into late‑summer.
– **Europe – core benchmarks**
– **DAX** +0.63 % / +1.79 % (**23 499**)
– **FTSE 100** +0.27 % / −0.48 % (**8 555**)
– **CAC 40** +0.64 % / −0.34 % (**7 744**)
– **Euro Stoxx 50** +0.39 % / +0.46 % (**5 310**)
*Macro tone:* A rebound in **Euro‑area retail sales (+1.5 % y/y)** and firmer commodity prices helped Northern indices. In the UK, a **7‑2 Bank of England vote for a 25 bp cut** weighed on domestic banks, offsetting the FX boost to multinationals.
– **Europe – peripheral indices**
– **IBEX 35** +0.48 % / +0.80 % (**13 554**)
– **FTSE MIB** +1.02 % / +2.72 % (**39 370**)
– **Global composites & Asia‑Pacific**
– **MSCI World** +0.10 % / −0.35 % (**3 712**)
– **Nikkei 225** +1.56 % / +1.83 % (**37 503**)
– **Hang Seng** +0.40 % / +1.61 % (**22 868**)
– **Shanghai Composite** −0.44 % / +1.79 % (**3 342**)
Sentiment improved after the **Caixin China Services PMI slipped only to 50.7** and ahead of weekend **CPI (−0.1 % y/y)**. Japanese exporters benefited from yen softness; Hong Kong bounced on short‑covering.
Overall, volatility stayed compressed and cross‑asset appetite rotated toward commodities. ETF flows show roughly **US$ 2 bn** of inflows into developed‑market equities (chiefly Europe/Japan), while U.S. mutual funds saw mild outflows. The **VIX settled near 12**, its lowest weekly close since January.
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## Commodities
Energy and precious metals rallied, extending an April trend driven by supply discipline and inflation hedging.
– **Crude oil**
– *WTI Jun* **US$ 61.02 bbl** (+1.85 % day / +4.68 % week)
– *Brent Jul* **US$ 63.91 bbl** (+1.70 % / +4.27 %)
– **Natural gas (NYMEX)** **US$ 3.80 MMBtu**, +5.65 % / +4.55 %.
– **Precious metals**
– *Gold* **US$ 3 324 oz** (+0.58 % / +2.58 %)
– *Silver* **US$ 32.72 oz** (+0.64 % / +2.24 %)
– *Platinum* +3.67 % week; *Palladium* +3.20 % week
– **Copper** added 1.06 % on Friday but slipped 0.43 % over the week as traders weighed softer Chinese data against supply‑risk headlines.
The broad commodity bid was helped by policy clarity from the Fed and by a flat **Swiss CPI (0 % y/y)**, which kept real yields capped and stoked demand for hard‑asset hedges.
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## Foreign Exchange
The dollar drifted lower, leaving the DXY marginally softer over five sessions; idiosyncratic stories dominated the majors.
| Pair | Close | Day % | Week % | Key driver |
|——|——-|——-|——–|————|
| **EUR/USD** | 1.1250 | +0.18 | −0.42 | Euro‑area data beat could not brighten sentiment |
| **GBP/USD** | 1.3306 | +0.45 | +0.26 | Recovery after BoE’s dovish cut |
| **USD/JPY** | 145.37 | −0.38 | +0.28 | Yen firmer on safety bids |
| **USD/CHF** | 0.8314 | −0.08 | +0.57 | Franc weaker after flat CPI |
| **USD/CAD** | 1.3939 | +0.09 | +0.84 | Weak jobs, higher unemployment |
| **AUD/USD** | 0.6411 | +0.19 | −0.50 | Tracked base metals |
| **NZD/USD** | 0.5920 | +0.07 | −0.66 | Soft employment (Q1 +0.1 %) |
G‑10 implied volatility stayed below 7 %, leaving carry trades unchallenged.
– **BTC/USD** **+1.04 % on Sunday, +10.28 % on the week** – the only major asset still trading through the weekend, buoyed by ETF inflows and a rising hash‑rate.
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