Weekly Market Review: 13th April 2026

In the United States, equity markets surged last week as the US and Iran agreed to a temporary two-week ceasefire on Tuesday night. Markets had been cautious up to that point; however, they rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 gaining 2.5% and the NASDAQ rising 2.8%. Investors welcomed the ceasefire and the prospect of a resolution during the intervening period, while oil prices declined and inflation concerns eased slightly. AI-focused stocks were among the strongest performers, with NVIDIA, Meta and AMD leading gains. However, sentiment weakened on Thursday as Israel continued its strikes on Lebanon, prompting Iran to threaten a response and raising concerns over the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz. For the week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ gained 3.35% and 4.22%, respectively.

In corporate developments, Pershing Square Capital, the investment firm led by Bill Ackman, has offered to acquire Universal Music Group for approximately €55 billion, while proposing to shift its primary listing from Amsterdam to New York. The deal would see the world’s largest music label, home to artists such as Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, combine with Pershing Square Capital, which holds significant stakes in companies such as Amazon and Alphabet. Ackman is also in the process of listing Pershing Square USA, which will act as an entry point for investors seeking access to his hedge fund strategy. In healthcare, Amazon is set to begin stocking Eli Lilly’s weight-loss medication at its pharmacies across the US. The company will also offer same-day delivery for eligible customers. While primarily an e-commerce business, Amazon operates a network of pharmacies that allow customers to order medicines following a medical consultation and have them delivered directly to their doorstep. Last year, Amazon also introduced in-store kiosks that enable patients to collect prescriptions in person. These kiosks initially excluded medicines requiring refrigeration or those subject to stricter regulation, such as certain controlled pain medications. However, they will now stock weight-loss treatments from both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, in partnership with One Medical, a regulated national primary care provider.

In the technology sector, dealmaking in the AI space continued, with Meta agreeing a new $21 billion deal with CoreWeave. This agreement will see CoreWeave provide additional cloud computing capacity to the company and will run until the end of 2032. The deal is significant as companies operating in the AI sector seek increased capacity to train their models. CoreWeave utilises NVIDIA’s graphics processing units (GPUs), which are widely regarded as best-in-class, making its services particularly attractive to firms such as Meta. Meanwhile, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, expects to generate significant revenues in 2026, which could help alleviate concerns regarding its future cash flow. According to Axios, the company forecasts advertising revenues of $2.5 billion in 2026, rising to $100 billion by 2030. Meta also unveiled its latest AI model, Muse Spark, designed for integration across its suite of products. While not as powerful as some competing models, it is intended to serve as a more advanced version of its existing Meta AI virtual assistant. Additional functionality includes price comparison tools through a “shopping mode” and health-related features, such as generating detailed responses on topics including nutrition.

In Europe, equity indices were primarily influenced by developments in Iran. The trading week was shortened by the Easter bank holiday and, following a subdued session on Tuesday, European equities surged on Wednesday after the ceasefire between the US and Iran was agreed. The Euro Stoxx 50 rose by nearly 300 basis points during Wednesday’s session, gaining an impressive 4.6%, while the STOXX Europe 600 increased by 3.7%. Markets experienced a modest pullback on Thursday as optimism regarding the strength of the agreement faded; however, Wednesday’s gains were sufficient to push European equities into positive territory for a second consecutive week. For the week as a whole, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 gained 4.39% and 3.06%, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 followed a similar pattern to equities in the US and EU, surging on Wednesday after the ceasefire agreement before pulling back on Thursday as tensions continued to simmer. Gains were more muted than in the EU, reflecting the prominence of major oil companies such as Shell and BP. Over the week, the index rose by 2.95%.

In corporate developments, JPMorgan Chase is set to construct one of the tallest office towers in Europe, having received approval for its new development in Canary Wharf. The tower will stand at 265 metres and is expected to become the tallest building in Canary Wharf upon completion.