WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

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Get the latest insights on global financial markets with our Weekly Market Review. In it we discuss the key financial headlines from the U.S, Europe, UK, Ireland, and Asia-Pacific, along with in-depth analysis of major asset classes, including:

Equities – U.S, Europe, and UK market trends
Bonds – Interest rate movements and fixed-income insights
Commodities – Oil, gold, and other key market drivers

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Weekly Market Review: 12th October 2026

The Week in Numbers

Equity Markets

Equity Indices	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
S&P 500	7,797.65	+0.82%	+13.91%
NASDAQ	27,315.47	+0.15%	+17.52%
EuroStoxx50	6,177.37	-1.05%	+6.66%
EuroStoxx600	631.95	-0.25%	+6.71%
FTSE 100	10,552.05	+0.74%	+6.25%
ISEQ	13,901.81	-2.60%	+6.13%

Central Bank Interest Rates

Interest Rate	Current Rate	Direction	Rate Change
FED	4.00%	—	0
ECB	2.65%	—	0
BOE	3.75%	—	0

Government Bonds

Fixed Income	Yield	Weekly Change	YTD Change
US 10YR	5.25	-0.02%	+25.32%
US 2YR	4.80	-0.17%	+38.24%
German 10YR	3.48	+1.55%	+19.73%
UK 10YR	5.44	+1.52%	+19.99%
Irish 10YR	3.62	+0.16%	+17.86%

Foreign Exchange Currency Movements

FX	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
EUR/USD	1.11	-0.61%	-4.73%
EUR/GBP	0.846	-0.51%	-2.93%
GBP/USD	1.322	-0.08%	-1.83%

Key Events

13/10/2026 – Earnings – JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo
14/10/2026 – US Inflation Data

Stay Informed with Our Seaspray Private Weekly Financial Market Review

Equities – U.S, Europe, and UK market trends
Bonds – Interest rate movements and fixed-income insights
Commodities – Oil, gold, and other key market drivers

Stay ahead of market trends with our expert insights. Read the latest update now!

FINANCIAL HEADLINES

United States

The Federal Reserve last week published the minutes of its September meeting, at which policymakers raised interest rates by a quarter-point to 3.75%–4.00%, the first increase in more than three years. The minutes showed that all participants supported the move, and that most judged another increase would likely be appropriate by the end of the year, although they gave no indication of which meeting. Officials said they had not seen sufficient progress on lowering inflation in recent months, pointing to higher oil and fuel prices linked to geopolitical developments and to the surge in investment in artificial intelligence. Participants judged the labour market to be stable and close to maximum employment, with the economy expanding at a solid pace on the back of robust business investment and resilient consumer spending. However, they noted that higher energy prices were weighing disproportionately on lower- and middle-income households. Fed staff do not expect inflation to return to the 2% target until 2029.

Europe & UK

In Europe, the German government raised its growth forecast for 2026 to 1.3%, up from 0.5% in April, which would mark the country’s fastest expansion since 2022. The upgrade follows a stronger-than-expected first half of the year, driven by robust exports, as buyers abroad built up stocks of energy-intensive German goods amid global shortages, alongside debt-funded spending on infrastructure and defence. The economy ministry said the economy had proven more resilient than expected to the conflict in the Middle East. However, household spending is expected to remain subdued as higher energy costs feed through to prices, and growth is projected to slow to 0.6% by 2028.

In the UK, Boots was sold to the Canadian branch of the billionaire Weston family in an €6.7 billion deal. The family’s holding company, is buying the 177-year-old pharmacy chain and has pledged to invest in its 1,800 stores, online business and healthcare services.

Ireland

Irish inflation rose to 4.1% in the year to September, up from 3.7% in August and the highest rate since January 2024, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office. The increase was driven by a considerable jump in the cost of energy, with electricity, gas and other fuels 15.3% more expensive than a year earlier, following the rise in oil prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Household bills for electricity, gas and home-heating oil have risen significantly since March. Mortgage interest costs also climbed by more than 10%, while education and transport prices rose by 8.9% and 7.5% respectively. However, food prices were largely unchanged, rising by just 0.4% over the year.

Asia-Pacific

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics reported preliminary third-quarter operating profit of 107.4 trillion won ($80 billion), almost nine times higher than a year earlier and the first time in the company’s history that quarterly profit has exceeded 100 trillion won. Revenue more than doubled to 195 trillion won. The surge was driven by soaring demand for memory chips used in artificial-intelligence data centres, which has lifted both sales volumes and chip prices. The result marks Samsung’s fourth consecutive quarter of record profits and is the highest quarterly profit reported by any technology company. Samsung, alongside SK Hynix and US-based Micron, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of memory chips to AI companies such as Nvidia.

ASSET CLASS REVIEW

Equities

In the United States, equities reached fresh highs early in the week, driven by continued strength in AI-related stocks. A softer-than-expected September jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep rates on hold, supporting gains in the Nasdaq, while Nvidia and Microsoft led the advance, with Nvidia also reaching a record high. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 recorded its first record close since mid-August, finishing above 7,800 for the first time, helped by lower oil prices. Constellation Energy jumped more than 12% after signing a 20-year agreement to supply power to Google. The run ended on Wednesday as oil climbed back above $100 a barrel and all three major indices fell. Industrials led the declines, housing-related shares dropped more than 2% and chipmakers lost 1.2%, while SpaceX fell 2.5% after reports that it was seeking $40 billion to buy Nvidia chips. Chipotle Mexican Grill jumped 6% after it was reported that Starbucks had worked with advisers on a takeover proposal for the burrito chain, valued at around $40 billion, in what could be the largest deal ever in the restaurant sector and would reunite Starbucks chief executive Brian Niccol with the company he previously ran. For the week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed 0.82% and 0.15% higher, respectively.

In Europe, shares were pulled lower by banks and by concerns over France’s public finances. Schneider Electric fell 10% on Monday after agreeing to buy US software company PTC, while France’s CAC 40 index lagged on fiscal worries. Lower oil prices lifted markets on Tuesday, even as German factory orders fell 10.6% in August. The mood turned on Wednesday as oil rebounded, and on Thursday the STOXX Europe 600 touched its lowest level since June. Banks slid to a three-month low, with Société Générale and BNP Paribas down more than 2%, while chipmakers ASML and Infineon also fell. For the week, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 closed -1.05% and -0.25.% lower, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 held up better than its European peers, as deals and results offset weakness in miners and banks. BTGroup rose 1.4% on Monday after agreeing to rescue TalkTalk. On Tuesday, Informa climbed 3% after agreeing to buy Clarion Events for £2.24 billion, while defence shares fell between 2% and 4% and online fashion retailer ASOS dropped 9.6% following a cyber attack. Banks led the market lower on Wednesday. Tesco was the standout on Thursday, rising almost 4% after raising its profit outlook and lifting its share buyback to £950million. For the week, the FTSE 100 closed 0.74% higher.

Bonds

US government borrowing costs reached their highest level in more than two decades. The ten-year yield rose above 5.35% on Monday, its highest since 2002, and neared 5.37% on Wednesday before easing after a $39 billion ten-year auction. September’s weak jobs figures, with only 29,000 positions added and unemployment rising to 4.2%, helped Treasuries recover on Tuesday, and market pricing odds for an October Fed rate increase fell to about 17% after release of the Fed minutes. However, the probability of a rate hike in December remains high. In the UK, the ten-year gilt yield rose to 5.45%, close to a 19 year high.

Commodities

Oil was little changed over the week, as emergency supply measures offset renewed attacks on shipping in the Gulf. Brent fell 2% on Monday to about $100 a barrel after G7 nations agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from emergency stockpiles, and dipped further on Tuesday as Middle East exports recovered. On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency agreed to speed up stock releases, prioritising diesel. Prices jumped more than 2% on Thursday as attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest weekly level since the conflict began, a hurricane cut US offshore output and American crude inventories fell by more than expected. Brent traded above $100 on Friday afternoon, up 0.3% on the week. Gold fell 1.4% to about $4,118 an ounce due to a stronger dollar and a high probability of a Fed increase in December.

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