In the United States, equity markets continued to rally last week as optimism surrounding a potential agreement between the US and Iran increased, while corporate earnings continued to point towards a resilient macroeconomic environment. Despite some negative rhetoric from President Donald Trump midweek regarding a possible resumption of bombing in Iran, sentiment remained broadly positive by Thursday amid expectations of progress on a one-page memorandum. The proposed 14-point memorandum would reportedly include an agreement to end hostilities, potentially reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and establish further talks regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. Alongside these geopolitical developments, strong corporate earnings across multiple sectors helped push both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite to new all-time highs. For the week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed 2.40% and 4.52% higher respectively.
In earnings, several high-profile companies reported quarterly results last week. Palantir Technologies reported earnings last Monday, with the AI software company exceeding earnings expectations and recording revenue growth of 85% compared with the previous quarter. The company’s net income also quadrupled to $870 million, up from $214 million during the same period in 2025. Palantir has benefited significantly from the global surge in demand for artificial intelligence technologies and has secured lucrative contracts with the US government and state agencies, with revenue from domestic government clients rising by 84%. Outside the public sector, the company also announced several major agreements during the first quarter with companies including Airbus, Stellantis and GE Aerospace. Elsewhere, Uber Technologies released its first-quarter earnings report, missing analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings, primarily due to weaker-than-expected performance in its ride-hailing division. While ride-hailing revenue increased by 5% to $6.8 billion, this remained below market expectations of $7.11 billion. However, the company’s delivery segment also performed strongly, with revenues rising by 34% to $5.07 billion.
In corporate developments, Amazon announced last Thursday that it would begin stocking Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic in pill form through its pharmacy kiosks, while also offering same-day delivery. Amazon has already been distributing Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug, through its kiosks and stated that same-day delivery would be available in approximately 4,500 locations by the end of 2026. Customers will reportedly be able to purchase the medication with a prescription for $149 per month, while insured customers may pay as little as $25.
In the technology sector, Anthropic announced last week that it plans to spend $200 billion on Google Cloud infrastructure and chip products over the next five years, in another sign of increasingly close ties among major AI companies. The announcement comes only weeks after Alphabet, Google’s parent company, agreed to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic. Anthropic also recently agreed a deal with Broadcom, Alphabet’s semiconductor partner, to purchase multiple gigawatts of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). Elsewhere, Meta Platforms is currently developing an AI assistant designed to help users carry out everyday tasks, which is expected to be rolled out across the company’s platforms to more than 3 billion active users.
In Europe, equity indices rose significantly last week amid growing hopes that an agreement could be reached to end the conflict in Iran. Despite a decline on Monday, markets were supported by declining oil prices and increasingly positive sentiment from the US regarding a potential agreement with Iran. Gains were also driven by strong corporate earnings. Shares in Novo Nordisk rose by 7% on Wednesday after the company exceeded earnings expectations, while BMW shares increased by 5% after also beating estimates. For the week, the EURO STOXX 50 closed 0.41% higher, while the STOXX Europe 600 closed marginally lower, down -0.02%
In earnings, Novo Nordisk reported strong quarterly results, as the newly launched pill version of its GLP-1 drug Wegovy generated stronger-than-expected sales following its US launch in January. The weight-loss pill is considered crucial to the future growth of the Danish pharmaceutical company, which has struggled to regain momentum against competitor Eli Lilly and its drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. The company also slightly raised its full-year outlook, as it aims to launch the Wegovy pill in markets outside the US during the second half of 2026. However, Novo Nordisk’s advantage in the oral weight-loss market may prove short-lived, after Eli Lilly received FDA approval for its first weight-loss pill, reportedly branded as Foundayo.
In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 underperformed last week compared with both European and US indices, as the market was weighed down by HSBC’s earnings results on Tuesday. Shares in HSBC fell by 6% after the bank missed profit forecasts due to fraud-related charges in the UK. As one of the FTSE 100’s largest constituents, the sharp decline in HSBC shares pushed the index over 1% lower on Tuesday. However, the index recovered well on Wednesday, supported by strong earnings from Diageo, which unexpectedly reported positive quarterly growth. For the week, the FTSE 100 closed -1.09% lower.
