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

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

Weekly Market Review: 21st September 2026

The Week in Numbers

Equity Markets

Equity Indices	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
S&P 500	7,650.50	+0.51%	+11.76%
NASDAQ	26,522.55	+1.73%	+14.11%
EuroStoxx50	6,236.20	-0.96%	+7.68%
EuroStoxx600	635.45	-0.49%	+7.31%
FTSE 100	10,659.13	+0.01	+7.33%
ISEQ	14,211.37	-1.32%	+8.49%

Central Bank Interest Rates

Interest Rate	Current Rate	Direction	Rate Change
FED	4.00%	↑	+0.25
ECB	2.65%	—	0
BOE	3.76%	—	0

Government Bonds

Fixed Income	Yield	Weekly Change	YTD Change
US 10YR	5.00	+1.03%	+19.19%
US 2YR	4.75	+3.19%	+36.86%
German 10YR	3.51	+0.15%	+20.92%
UK 10YR	5.28	-1.51%	+16.37%
Irish 10YR	3.60	-0.55%	+17.45%

Foreign Exchange Currency Movements

FX	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
EUR/USD	1.148	-0.93%	-2.23%
EUR/GBP	0.857	+0.04%	-1.66%
GBP/USD	1.339	-0.95%	-0.59%

Key Events

23/09/2026 – UK & German Manufacturing PMI Data
24/09/2026 – US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Summit Meeting

Global Trade from 2000 to 2025: Growth, Technology and Transformation

In our most recent Seaspray Private financial data insight, we examine how global merchandise trade has evolved between 2000 and 2025. Combined global imports and exports increased from $12.8 trillion to $51.4 trillion over the period, representing a more than fourfold increase.

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 held its most recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting last week. This was the first meeting in some time where the outcome was not entirely certain, with the majority expecting a rate hike while some market participants still anticipated a hold. However, the Fed ultimately delivered a 25-basis-point rate hike, taking US interest rates to 4.00%. In his statement following the announcement, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh stated that “inflation is too high and has been for too long”. Warsh was supported in the decision by all 12 voting members of the FOMC, and judging by the economic projections released by committee members, further rate hikes could follow. Twelve officials forecast another 25-basis-point hike, with four anticipating two further increases. Only two expect rates to remain at their current level.

Europe & UK

In Europe, it was an eventful week for Revolut. Last Monday, Revolut announced that fraudsters impersonating an Italian government agency had obtained the personal information of approximately 680 cryptocurrency customers. Revolut said that no customer funds or internal systems were compromised. On Wednesday, the bank announced that it had applied for a Swiss banking licence, having already received standalone licences in the UK, France and Lithuania. Revolut has 1.3 million customers in Switzerland and has committed to investing CHF 150 million to expand its operations in the market, which is considered one of Europe’s most lucrative due to its significant concentration of high-net-worth individuals.

In the UK, inflation rose to 3.1% in August from 2.9%, driven mainly by higher motor fuel prices, while core and services inflation were unchanged. The Monetary Policy Committee held rates at 3.75% by a six-to-three majority, with the three dissenting members favouring an increase to 4.00%. The Committee also judged the risks to inflation to be more tilted to the upside than in July, with its updated projections indicating that inflation could rise to slightly above 4% in early 2027.

Ireland

ESB, along with grid operator EirGrid, has announced plans to begin raising funds for capital investment projects through bond issuances, starting towards the end of 2026 and continuing into 2027. The companies were approved for a total of €18.9bn in state investment under the Price Review 6 (PR6) framework, which is intended to support a major overhaul of Ireland’s electricity grid. However, they will receive €13.5bn of this funding, leaving a shortfall that is expected to be financed through bond issuance. Elsewhere, Ireland was not spared from the global bond sell-off last week, with the yield on 10-year Irish government bonds rising to 3.64%, its highest level since 2013 as investors continued to rotate out of government debt globally.

Asia-Pacific

Chinese economic data released last week painted a grim picture of the domestic economy. Retail sales, a key barometer of the strength of the Chinese consumer, grew by just 0.4% in the year to August, down from 0.6% in July and short of the 0.8% expected. Investment was weaker still: fixed-asset investment in the first eight months of the year was 7.2% below the same period of 2025, a deeper shortfall than the 6.7% recorded through July. Those figures sit awkwardly beside industrial production, which rose 5.2% year on year, and the picture they form together is of an economy leaning ever more heavily on its factories and its export markets rather than on domestic demand to drive growth.

ASSET CLASS REVIEW

Equities

In the United States, three separate pressures arrived in the same week, and shares fell in each of the first three sessions. It began on Monday with warnings from senior figures at several leading artificial-intelligence firms that development should slow, which knocked the chipmakers hardest: Nvidia fell 3.4% and technology was the weakest sector. Tuesday brought the second pressure, as oil settled at its highest since May and government borrowing costs pushed through 5%, a combination that points to policy staying restrictive for longer. The third catalyst arrived on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve delivered a quarter-point rate hike and reinforced expectations of additional tightening this year. Markets were whipsawed by the announcement, with sharp intraday volatility giving way to a lower close. Energy was the one part of the market that held up, while the highest-valued growth shares took most of the damage. Despite the volatility, for the week the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed higher, up 0.51% and 1.73% respectively.

In Europe, the week unfolded in a similar pattern. Concerns surrounding artificial intelligence weighed on markets on Monday, with the technology sector falling 2.1%. The sharp rise in oil prices on Tuesday pushed European equities to a three-month low, as banks and financial stocks came under pressure. Sentiment began to improve on Wednesday as crude oil prices retreated. The healthcare sector provided consistent support throughout the week, led by GSK, which rose 4.7% following positive clinical trial results. L’Oréal overtook LVMH last Tuesday to become the country’s largest listed company by market capitalisation. The cosmetics group has benefited from weaker demand for luxury goods and stronger sales of lower-priced consumer products. This marks the first time since 2017 that a non-luxury company has held the top position on the CAC 40 index. For the week, after a negative Friday session, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 closed lower, down -0.96% and -0.49%, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, heavyweight energy stocks provided early support to the market, while the Bank of England helped sustain gains later in the week. Shell and BP were supported while crude oil climbed, though the banks fell on Tuesday as yields rose, HSBC losing 2.2% and Barclays 1.77. Housebuilders led a broader advance on Wednesday as gilt yields retreated, helped by results from Barratt Redrow, and the index added more than 1% on Thursday after the Bank of England held rates and eased its bond sales. Despite a significant sell off of over 1% on Friday, the FTSE 100 closed 0.01% higher for the week.

Bonds

US bond yields reached levels not seen in years. The ten-year yield went through 5% on Monday and touched 5.04% on Tuesday, the highest since 2007, as higher oil prices fed inflation concerns; it held close to 5% after the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point increase and remained there for the week. The two-year yield rose to roughly 4.75%, and jobless claims of 196,000 offered no argument for restraint. The UK’s 30-year gilt yield rose to approximately 5.96% at midweek, its highest level since 1998, before gilts rallied following the Bank of England’s rate decision. The 10 year gilt moved lower to 5.28% but remained at historic highs.

Commodities

Oil set the tone again, yet handed some its gains back later in the week. Brent settled at $108.75 a barrel on Tuesday, its highest close since May, after a shutdown at the Saudi port of Yanbu and cancelled cargoes to Europe. The relief came from the same source: Saudi Arabia offered to route more crude through Oman, and American inventories rose rather than fell, leaving Brent near $103.87 and WTI just above $100. Both finished the week lower but still above the $100 mark.

Gold spent most of the week in retreat, reaching a one-month low around $4,313 an ounce as bond yields climbed and the Federal Reserve raised rates, before recovering strongly on Friday to about $4,383 an ounce, roughly 1% higher over the week.

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