Weekly Market Review: 13th July 2026

In the United States, the overarching themes last week were geopolitics and artificial intelligence. Early in the week, equity markets declined due to a combination of selling in technology stocks and heightened geopolitical tensions. After Samsung posted record earnings on Tuesday, chipmakers such as Micron and SanDisk came under pressure as investors questioned whether the immense AI spending by hyperscalers could be justified. The NASDAQ bore the brunt of the decline, owing to its technology-heavy composition, falling 1.8% on Tuesday compared with the S&P 500’s more modest decline of 0.4%. Broader markets weakened further on Wednesday after President Trump announced that the US had struck a number of Iranian sites and declared that the ceasefire between the two sides had come to an end. This heightened concerns over a return to wider conflict and the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Although further strikes were carried out on Wednesday night, US markets stabilised as investors assessed the outlook for the conflict. On the AI front, despite the uncertainty among investors, hyperscalers continued to accelerate the development of new infrastructure. Meta announced plans to build a $9 billion data centre in Alberta, Canada, its first such facility in the country. One of the key attractions of Alberta is its colder climate, which makes cooling these large-scale facilities more cost-effective. The data centre is expected to consume as much electricity as 800,000 homes. Following a recovery on Thursday, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ finished the week 0.84% and 0.90% higher, respectively.

In Europe, equities declined last week as geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran escalated. After President Trump declared the ceasefire to be over, markets weakened on concerns that renewed conflict could drive energy prices and inflation higher. Despite three consecutive days of losses, European markets recovered on Thursday, with the Euro Stoxx 50 gaining 1.0% and the STOXX Europe 600 rising 0.5%, as oil prices retreated after surging 7% between Tuesday and Wednesday. Overall, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 finished the week -2.31% and -1.85% lower, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 traded lower last week, weighed down by renewed hostilities in the Middle East and disappointing corporate developments. Concerns over inflation initially pressured the market midweek, while declining oil prices on Thursday resulted in shares of Shell and BP falling by almost 1% each. AstraZeneca was also a significant drag on the index after its drug Wainua failed in late-stage clinical trials to reduce heart complications associated with a rare cardiac disease. Shares in the pharmaceutical company fell 9% on Thursday as a result. For the week, the FTSE 100 closed -1.96% lower.