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Markets
Markets face April CPI test as earnings tide lifts tech to records
Investors head into the week of May 11 facing the April consumer price index and earnings from Circle, Nebius, and Applied Materials. The S&P 500 gained 2.3 per cent last week and the Nasdaq closed at a record, with the tech sector up 7 per cent.
Oil pushes higher, gold erases gains after US and Iran trade weekend threats
Oil prices pushed higher and gold surrendered its recent gains after Washington and Tehran traded threats over the weekend, the latest blow to a seven-week-old ceasefire that had briefly raised expectations the Strait of Hormuz would reopen.
Bitcoin slips from $80,000 after Fed report flags inflation, rate-hike risk
Bitcoin retreated from the $80,000 zone after the Federal Reserve's May 8 Financial Stability Report flagged the Iran-driven oil shock and a hotter March PCE print as conditions that could push the FOMC toward rate hikes rather than the cuts crypto desks had positioned for.
Gold and silver stall below $4,800 and $80 as Iran MOU meets Fed pause
Spot gold closed Friday at $4,720.45 and silver at $80.38, weekly gains of 1.96 and 5.78 per cent driven by a White House memorandum to Iran. Both metals stalled at resistance after April payrolls printed 115,000, locking the Fed's pause in place.
XRP funding stays negative after 27% rally, mirroring 2025 setup before 126% surge
XRP perpetual funding rates remain in negative territory after the token climbed 27 per cent in two weeks, replaying a divergence from April 2025 that preceded a 126 per cent rally. CoinGlass data show shorts paying longs at every major venue.
Gundlach urges 20% cash, 20% commodities as 2026 Fed cuts fade
DoubleLine Capital chief investment officer Jeffrey Gundlach told Bloomberg the Fed will not cut rates in 2026 and that investors should hold 20 per cent in cash and 20 per cent in commodities. He would buy gold below $3,500 an ounce.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit records as chipmakers surge, jobs beat
The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,398.93 and the Nasdaq at an all-time high of 26,247.08 on Friday, extending both indices' winning streak to six weeks as an AI chip rally and a stronger-than-expected April jobs report powered the advance.
Fund Managers Add S&P 500 Longs, Trim Treasury Shorts
Speculators added to S&P 500 futures and cut bearish Treasury wagers in the week ended May 5, CFTC data showed Friday. Positioning tilted slightly more bullish on equities while rate-cut expectations remain anchored in 2027.
Tokenized RWA market tops $30bn, growing 1,000% in two years
The market for tokenized real-world assets has crossed $30 billion, growing more than 1,000 per cent from early 2024, according to data published by a16z crypto. Tokenized U.S. Treasury debt accounts for roughly half the total.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs extend inflows to six weeks, pulling in $3.4B
US spot Bitcoin ETFs have logged six straight weeks of net inflows totalling $3.4bn since early April, the longest streak since July 2025, with BlackRock's IBIT capturing the bulk of new money even as flows cooled this week.
Goldman delays Fed rate cut path to December as Iran shock persists
Goldman Sachs has pushed back its forecast for the Federal Reserve's 2026 rate cuts to September and December, citing oil-driven inflation from the US-Iran war. The shift aligns the bank with the Fed's own dot plot and the Wall Street consensus that easing will arrive late.
Cisco closes at record $96.57 ahead of Q3 earnings as AI orders climb
Cisco Systems shares closed at a record $96.57 on Friday, rising 4.8 per cent, as investors positioned ahead of fiscal third-quarter results due May 13. AI infrastructure orders are expected to approach $5bn for the year.
Coinbase buys $88M in Bitcoin in Q1, expands treasury to 16,492 BTC
Coinbase bought $88 million worth of Bitcoin in Q1 2026, adding 1,103 BTC to a corporate treasury now worth $1.3 billion. CFO Alesia Haas also detailed a perpetual USDC revenue-sharing deal with Circle.
30-year Treasury yield tests 5 per cent as oil, growth and rate fears converge
The 30-year Treasury yield tested the 5 per cent threshold this week, climbing to its highest level since 2023 as oil, growth and rate fears converged.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq slip from records as US-Iran Hormuz exchange resumes
Wall Street reversed off intraday all-time highs on Thursday after a fresh exchange of fire near the Strait of Hormuz lifted oil and pulled traders out of the rally that had carried both indices to new records at the open.
Stocks hit records while crypto stalls: what the divergence says about risk appetite in 2026
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched fresh records in early May while bitcoin traded sideways near $81,500, a divergence that reflects a narrowing equity rally, matured ETF flows, and competing narratives for institutional capital.
