Trade-driven rally ends the week cautiously with mixed global market results
From Yahoo Finance: 2025-05-16 00:37:00
The week started with a strong market rally fueled by the China-U.S. trade truce, but by Friday, traders grew cautious of oversaturation and uncertainties in the trade saga.
Wall Street and European stock futures remained steady, while Asian shares saw mixed results. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.8%, with Alibaba’s earnings disappointing investors. Australian shares rose by 0.7%.
Despite recent trade tensions, the stock market is showing resilience. Asia-Pacific shares are near a seven-month high, with Chinese blue chips fully recovering from losses since April due to tariff concerns.
Bond markets reacted positively to a decrease in U.S. producer prices and retail sales, leading investors to revise their Fed rate cut expectations to 56 basis points for the year.
President Trump’s focus on Middle East deals and potential Iran nuclear agreement caused oil prices to drop 2%. Markets are eager for trade progress with China and other countries, following the recent deal with Britain.
Tariffs remain high, causing Walmart to announce upcoming price hikes due to increased costs. The impact of tariffs may soon reflect in U.S. price data, prompting potential responses from the Federal Reserve.
Economic calendars in Europe and the U.S. are light, with key releases on Friday including import prices for April and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, providing insight into the effects of recent trade actions.