Market Calisthenics, As Investors Buy Dips, Rotate, And Speculate!

This is our weekly market update where we start in the US, cross to Europe and Asia and end in Australia, covering commodities and crypto along the way. Markets got a real workout this week, with some of the biggest falls, followed by strong buying in the final session in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average resetting its record high at 50,115.67 points. The S&P 500 climbed 1.97% to end the session at 6,932.30 points. Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by information technology, up 4.1%, followed by a 2.84% gain in industrials. The S&P 500 energy sector index hit a record high, along with industrials and consumer staples. The S&P 500 was less than 1% below its record-high close set last week. The Nasdaq gained 2.18% to 23,031.21 points and was down 4% from its record-high close last October. For the week, the Dow added 2.5%, the S&P 500 lost 0.1% and the Nasdaq slid 1.9%. The Global MSCI rose 1.52% on Friday, to be down 0.14% for the week, while the All-Countries Asia ex Japan rose 2.64%. The European STOXX 600 was up 1% for week. The S&P/ASX 200 Index plunged 2 per cent with all 11 sectors lower in a nearly $65 billion wipeout that was the biggest since a 4.2 per cent drop on April 7, 2025. For the week, the benchmark fell 1.8 per cent. Gold moved back towards the $US5000 an ounce mark, silver recouped $US77 an ounce and Brent oil was holding shy of $US68 a barrel. Bitcoin, which plunged earlier this week, flirted above $70,000, though it was last at $68,135. Note too that Singapore-trade iron ore ended the week at $US99 a tonne, its fourth consecutive week of losses as inventory builds at major Chinese ports and steel mills ahead of the Lunar New Year break later this month. Chinese port stockpiles have risen for 10 weeks, and are nearing a record high. AI related stocks drove the momentum on Friday, with Nvidia 7.9 per cent higher, boosting its market cap by about $US325 billion. Broadcom gained 7.1 per cent too while the Philadelphia semiconductor index leapt 5.7 per cent. The dollar slipped from two-week highs on Friday, returning some safe-haven gains as risk assets rebounded from a deep rout driven by concerns over a surge in AI-related spending this year. Meanwhile, the yen is headed for its worst week against the dollar since October, wiping out most of January’s hefty gains as traders await Sunday’s national election. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock presented a hawkish stance on policy. Speaking before lawmakers on Friday, Bullock warned that stronger-than-expected domestic demand and tighter capacity were likely to continue underpinning inflation. Speaking just days after the RBA hiked rates for the first time in two years, Bullock said that the central bank needed to further dampen domestic demand to tame inflation. Her comments were viewed as broadly hawkish, sparking increased losses in local stocks as markets fretted over more potential hikes by the central bank. Markets were seen pricing in at least one more hike this year. She highlighted that “Government spending is part of total spending and total aggregate demand in the economy, so it, along with private spending, contributes to aggregate demand. And so to the extent that aggregate demand is above aggregate supply, which we think it is, that’s contributing to inflation...That’s why we’ve decided to raise interest rates." http://www.martinnorth.com/ Details of our one to one service are here: https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/dfa-one-to-one/ Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/ Find more at https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/ where you can subscribe to our research alerts Please consider supporting our work via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DigitalFinanceAnalytics The full detailed set of post code data is available as a subscription service. Or make a one-off contribution to help cover our costs via PayPal at: https://www.paypal.me/MartinDFA We also can receive bitcoins at: 13zBL1oRib9VJu8Uc9zUGNhxKDBBgUpDN1 Please share this post to help to spread the word about the state of things.... Caveat Emptor! Note: this is NOT financial or property advice!! 🚨BEWARE OF SCAMMERS🚨 As there are accounts impersonating Walk The World in the comments on YouTube, note that our comments will have a distinguishable verified symbol. And remember that we will never message you asking you to give us money or talk to us on other platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram