Global Markets Sunday News
The tide has turned
Wall Street experienced a spectacular rally this week, driven by technology stocks and falling oil prices. Iran’s announcement on Friday that it would end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz further boosted the positive sentiment and sparked new hope for a swift resolution to the Middle East conflict. There is also a lot happening in Europe, and market participants are likely to shift their focus back to the quarterly earnings season that has just begun.
Highs & Lows of the Week
Tops / Europe
Sivers Semi +76,57 %: After the technology company announced a secondary listing on the Nasdaq in New York, its stock price surged. However, the company’s headquarters will remain in Sweden. At the same time, the company plans to raise 125 million SEK to further advance its technology projects.
ITM Power +84,3 %: The British manufacturer of electrolysers saw its stock price surge after securing a strategic contract from the German defense contractor Rheinmetall. The project aims to establish a network of production sites for synthetic fuels for NATO.
Soitec +53,47 %: Thanks to its promising AI technologies, particularly silicon photonics and optical architectures, the French manufacturer of semiconductor materials is once again gaining popularity. Investors anticipate higher margin potential in these new market segments.
Flops / Europe
Alstom -28,12 %: After the French rail technology manufacturer revised its financial forecasts downward and withdrew its cash flow target, the stock price plummeted. Although the order books remain well-filled, the decision to abandon this key financial target caused unease in the market.
Barry Callebaut -18,36 %: Due to chocolate supply shortages, the chocolatier and supplier for Magnum ice cream is revising its earnings forecast downward. As a result, EBIT is expected to decline by approximately 15%.
Kering -8,27 %: The luxury goods group’s figures were disappointing. Among other things, revenue declined in the first quarter. The weak performance of its flagship brand, Gucci, combined with the war in Iran, is jeopardizing the targets Kering has set for the current fiscal year.
Robertet -7,51 %: Despite solid results for the 2025 fiscal year, the stock price fell. The outlook for 2026 presented by the French fragrance and flavor manufacturer is conservative. Analysts at Oddo BHF point to the risks arising from tensions related to the Middle East conflict, which are undermining the reliability of the forecast.
Tops / USA
Revolution Medicines +54,13 %: A resounding success for the pharmaceutical company focused on oncology drugs: The preliminary results of a Phase III clinical trial for the drug Daraxonrasib are encouraging. Administration of the drug resulted in a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with just 6.7 months with chemotherapy.
Oracle +26,77 %: Die Anleger haben offenbar beschlossen, dass jetzt genau der richtige Zeitpunkt ist, um in einen insgesamt unterbewerteten Sektor zu investieren. Auch Fair Isaac (+16%) und SAP (+13%) profitierten von dem Aufwärtstrend.
Coreweave +14,56 %: The race for technological supremacy in the field of artificial intelligence is picking up steam again. The sector has seen an upturn, thanks in no small part to announced massive investments. For example, Nvidia is investing $5 billion in Intel, and Microsoft is securing AI computing capacity from the Dutch Nebius Group for $17.4 billion over five years. Broadcom also benefited from this momentum—its stock climbed 7% this week.
Flops/ USA
Carmax -12,5 %: The published financial results caused concern among investors. Although the figures were largely in line with forecasts, the company also had to take an impairment charge. Added to this is the recent somewhat weaker margin performance in the used-car business.
Fastenal -6,89 %: The U.S. president’s trade policy has weighed on corporate earnings. Fastenal is no exception. According to the company, costs have risen so rapidly that prices could not be raised at the same pace. As a result, margins came under pressure and fell short of the targeted goals.
Raw materials
Energy
Iran has fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping for the remainder of the ceasefire in Lebanon. Donald Trump welcomed the announcement but made it clear that the United States would continue to maintain the naval blockade against Iran. The U.S. government intends to maintain this restrictive measure until a bilateral agreement with Tehran is finally signed. Nevertheless, the reopening of the strait brought immediate relief to global energy markets. The price of the U.S. crude oil grade WTI fell by nearly 12% to around $82 per barrel (contract maturing in May 2026). North Sea Brent crude also fell by over 10% and was last trading at approximately $88 per barrel (contract maturing in June 2026). As a result, the U.S. oil price once again reached its lowest level since early March and moved further away from the high of $115 recorded two weeks ago.
Metals
The price of copper in London has risen to $13,270. Market participants expect energy prices to fall again once the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, thereby boosting demand. The logic behind this is simple: if the situation stabilizes permanently, a potential interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and a renewed appetite for risk will benefit the red metal. A similar picture is emerging in the precious metals segment. Gold is now trading above $4,800. Falling oil prices have also eased inflation concerns, which in turn is having a positive effect on the precious metal. This is because gold loses its appeal when interest rates rise, as it does not generate any current income.
Agricultural commodities
Despite lower oil prices, grain prices in Chicago are on the rise. The price of a bushel of wheat is around 604 U.S. cents, corn costs 456 U.S. cents, and soybeans are holding steady at 1,175 U.S. cents.
Macroeconomics
Market sentiment
Although the tide has clearly turned on the stock markets in light of the conflict in Iran, bond yields remain at high levels. This is despite Iran’s announcement that it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a move that has further eased tensions. However, given the measures to cushion rising energy prices and the increase in defense budgets, bond markets expect higher budget deficits in the coming years. Even though the decline in oil prices reduces the risk of inflation, there will still be significant repercussions that are likely to make it difficult for central banks to lower key interest rates further.
Cryptocurrencies
Following the lead of the stock indices, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 7% this week and is now approaching the $76,000 mark once again. While the S&P 500 has risen to an all-time high, BTC is still far from that level, as it currently remains about 40% below its October 2025 peak of $126,000. Bitcoin spot ETFs followed suit: This week, U.S. exchange-traded products recorded inflows of $332 million, bringing total assets under management to $97 billion—a level that is also still well below the $169 billion reached last October. Other major cryptocurrencies benefited from the positive momentum over the past week: Ether (ETH) gained 7.5% and surpassed the $2,350 threshold, Solana (SOL) rose 8.5% to around $88, and XRP climbed 9.5% to just under $1.45.
Outlook
The spectacular gains on U.S. markets in April bring back memories of the scene that unfolded in the spring of 2025 following the announcement of “reciprocal tariffs”: initially, fear set in, followed by a major rally. In Europe, market participants were initially somewhat more cautious until it was announced on Friday afternoon that Iran would lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for the remainder of the ceasefire.
Aside from the geopolitical rollercoaster ride, another topic will come to the fore in the coming days. After all, the first full week of the first-quarter earnings season is just around the corner. In Europe, alongside Roche, Nestlé, and SAP, Thales, L’Oréal, ABB, and EssilorLuxottica will also report. In the U.S., Tesla, IBM, GE Aerospace, Boeing, and Philip Morris will present their figures.
From a macroeconomic perspective, things are relatively quiet in the U.S. The only data release here is Tuesday’s retail sales report for March. Additionally, the flash purchasing managers’ indices for the major economic powers in April are scheduled for Thursday, along with inflation figures for the UK on Wednesday and Japan on Friday.
S&P 500 Heatmap
S&P 500 performance in 2025
U.S. bond yield
2-year US bond yield
10-year US bond yield
Correlation between the price of gold and the US dollar
