Financial Market Update – Week of 05/12
Presented by Marc Aarons
Last week brought trade framework progress between the U.S. and the U.K. and a Federal Reserve that seemed a bit uncertain during its policy meeting. Read on for a bite-sized summary of what you should know.
Weekly Stock Index Performance
For the week ending May 9th, major U.S. stock market indexes were marginally lower, with smaller trading ranges and lower volatility than we have seen in recent weeks.
- The S&P 500 decreased by 0.47%.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.16%.
- The Nasdaq 100 finished the week lower by 0.20%.
U.S-U.K.Trade Deal
- While last week started sluggishly for stocks on Monday and Tuesday, news broke on Wednesday of a trade deal on the horizon between the U.S. and the U.K. Markets liked the sound of that, and investor sentiment picked up heading into Thursday’s meeting in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and Peter Mandelson, the U.K. ambassador to the U.S.
- Broad outlines of the deal were unveiled at the gathering, while full agreement details were not readily available. It seems that the U.S. duties on steel from the U.K. will drop to zero from 25%.
- The agreement seems to set an early “baseline” on tariffs at 10%.
Energy Down, Bitcoin Up
- Positive developments on trade aside, gas prices have surely headed lower recently here at home. With the price of crude oil reaching four-year lows last week, drivers should save a few bucks heading into the peak driving season this year.
- The national average for gasoline in the U.S. was $3.135 per gallon (regular) as of 5/11/25, according to data from AAA. One year ago, the national average price per gallon was $3.625 — good news for drivers approaching the Memorial Day holiday.
- Cryptocurrency prices rose after the trade agreement last week, with the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin, rising to over $100,000 per coin. The recent all-time high was back in January of this year near $109,000.
Uncertain Fed?
- As expected, the Fed left its key overnight lending rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% at its May meeting last week.
- An uncertain tone was struck given some recent economic developments featuring economic strength, and others showing weakness. The Fed ruled out any preemptive rate cuts relating to tariffs.
- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the Fed’s “wait and see” mentality and made some other notable comments regarding the state of the economy.
The Week Ahead = CPI & More
- After last week’s quiet stock index trading ranges and little in the way of economic news, this week is a bit different!
- We get Consumer Price Index data on Tuesday. On Thursday, we will get Producer Price Index data, retail sales data, and Powell speaking at an event. And consumer sentiment data will be released on Friday.
That’s it for this week’s update! If you’d like to delve into these topics further or have any other questions or needs as the week unfolds, don’t hesitate to reach out. I am always here as a resource for you.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Marc Aarons may be reached at 714-887-8000 or Email Marc
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