MARKET WEEKLY 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: 28th April 2025

The Week in Numbers

Equity Markets

Equity Indices	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
S&P 500	5,525.21	+6.00%	-6.06%
NASDAQ	17,382.94	+8.22%	-9.98%
EuroStoxx50	5,154.12	+4.83%	+5.27%
EuroStoxx600	520.45	+3.15%	+2.53%
FTSE 100	8,415.25	+2.16%	+2.96%
ISEQ	10,151.16	+2.11%	+4.04%

Central Bank Interest Rates

Interest Rate	Current Rate	Direction	Rate Change
FED	4.50%	—	0
ECB	2.40%	—	0
BOE	4.50%	—	0

Government Bonds

Fixed Income	Yield	Weekly Change	YTD Change
US 10YR	4.25	-1.79%	-9.43%
US 2YR	3.75	-1.16%	-11.36%
German 10YR	2.4730	+0.34%	+4.70%
UK 10YR	4.48	-1.98%	-1.86%
Irish 10YR	2.81	-0.74%	+6.73%

Foreign Exchange Currency Movements

FX	Value	Weekly Change	YTD Change
EUR/USD	1.1364	-0.34%	+9.74%
EUR/GBP	0.8533	-0.61%	+3.16%
GBP/USD	1.3314	+0.23%	+6.37%

Key Events

30/04/2025 – EU Flash Inflation Data
30/04/2025 – US GDP Data
02/05/2025 – US Non Farm Payrolls

Data Insight of the Week

This week’s data insight continues to analyse Q1 earnings from some of the United States and Europe’s biggest companies. There were positive earnings from companies such as SAP,IBM and Newmont Mining, while Tesla was the outlier, missing expectations by a wide margin.

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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its growth forecast for the United States last week in its latest World Economic Outlook. The organisation estimates that US economic growth will reach 1.8% in 2025 – 1% lower than was estimated for2024 and 0.9% below its December 2024 update. The significant downgrade is attributed to ongoing policy uncertainty, tradetensions, and reduced forecasted domestic demand. In addition to lower growth, the IMF expects US inflation to average 3% in2025 – one percentage point higher than forecasted in January.Looking beyond 2025, the IMF projects growth of 1.7% in 2026, 0.4% below the January estimate, due to softer private consumption and the continued impact of tariffs.

Europe & UK

In Europe, the IMF also downgraded its economic growth forecasts for the bloc last week, following the global trend of reduced growth amid a climate of policy and trade uncertainty.However, unlike the US, the expected decline is less pronounced.The IMF now forecasts growth of 0.8% in 2025 – a 0.2% decrease from its January 2025 projection. Nonetheless, growth is expected to rebound to 1.2% in 2026, driven by increased private spending and more accommodative fiscal policies in some of Europe’s largest countries, particularly Germany. In the UK, Revolut – Europe’s most valuable start-up – released its annual report last week. The London-based bank doubled its profits to £1 billion while surpassing 50 million customers. The company’s wealth division, which includes stock trading,generated £506 million in 2024 – a fourfold increase on 2023.The trade war between China and the United States, which began with President Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2nd, appears to be easing. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that a trade deal between Beijing and Washington could be reached soon. However, Beijing has pushed back, calling reports of a near agreement “fake news” and insisting that talks will only proceed once the US cancels all unilateral tariff measures. China currently holds a trade surplus of nearly $300billion with the US and accounts for 15% of American exports.Nevertheless, China is in a stronger position to replace its primary US import—agricultural products—with alternatives from other countries, whereas the US faces greater difficulty replacing Chinese imports, which include electronics & processed minerals.

Ireland

Electricity generated from wind energy accounted for 38% of Ireland’s total energy production in the first quarter of 2025. During the same three-month period, solar energy also reached arecord level, with 800 megawatts (MW) of energy produced in mid-March – the first time utility-scale solar production has exceeded 800 MW. At a county level, Kerry produced the most wind energy,followed by Cork and Galway. Together, they accounted for one-quarter of Ireland’s wind energy output in March. Elsewhere,Swedish communications company Ericsson announced a €200 million investment in a new R&D facility at its Athlone site in County Westmeath.

Asia-Pacific

The trade war between China and the United States, which began with President Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2nd, appears to be easing. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that a trade deal between Beijing and Washington could be reached soon. However, Beijing has pushed back, calling reports of a near agreement “fake news” and insisting that talks will only proceed once the US cancels all unilateral tariff measures. China currently holds a trade surplus of nearly $300 billion with the US and accounts for 15% of American exports. Nevertheless, China is in a stronger position to replace its primary US import—agricultural products—with alternatives from other countries, whereas the US faces greater difficulty replacing Chinese imports, which include electronics & processed minerals.

ASSET CLASS REVIEW

Equities

In the US, equity markets returned to relative normality last week, spurred by a number of geopolitical and domestic developments. On the geopolitical stage, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck a dovish tone in his comments regarding China and the ongoing trade war. Bessent stated that the current situation with China was unsustainable; however, he cautioned that negotiations had not yet started and described them as likely to be a “slog”. Domestically, President Trump stated he had no intention of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, despite repeated attacks on the head of the Federal Reserve since returning to office. Hopes that ceasefire talks with Russia could progress also helped push markets higher. Beyond politics, Q1 earnings calls continued. Tesla, one of the “Magnificent Seven”, reported lower-than-expected revenues and income, with net income falling 39% in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. CEO Elon Musk cited the impact of higher tariffs on Tesla’s business and stated that he would be scaling back his involvement with the current US administration to focus more on Tesla. Elsewhere, a recent survey conducted across 15 countries, including the US, UK, and Germany, and involving 1,500 business leaders from large companies, showed that more than half planned to relocate operations within the next five years to gain better access to renewable energy sources. Almost all respondents believed there would be a long-term shift away from fossil fuels. For the week, the S&P 500 closed 6.00% higher, while the NASDAQ finished the week 8.22% higher.

In Europe, markets gained on the back of improved global sentiment. President Trump’s reassurance that he would not dismiss Fed Chair Jerome Powell, along with hopes of de-escalation between the US and China, contributed to investor optimism. Key earnings reports also boosted sentiment. SAP, the largest company in Europe by market capitalisation, reported an operating profit of €2.5bn for Q1 2025 and forecast strong growth in its cloud computing division. Its shares posted their biggest gain in five years following the announcement. BNP Paribas, one of the continent’s largest banks, reported net income of €2.95bn for the first quarter. Like its US counterparts, the bank’s investment banking and trading division saw a 12.5% revenue increase to€5.3bn, driven by a historically volatile quarter. Meanwhile, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund—the largest in the world—reported a quarterly loss of $39bn due to a sharp sell-off in the tech sector during Q1. The fund owns, on average, 1.5% of all listed stocks globally. For the week, the EuroStoxx50 and STOXX 600 closed up 4.83% and 3.15%, respectively.

In the UK, the FTSE gained on optimism that the US-China trade war might be cooling, potentially averting a wider economic downturn. The index also recovered nearly all losses sustained immediately after President Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement on 2nd and 3rd of April. For the week, the FTSE 100 closed 2.16% higher.

Bonds

Global bond yields remained subdued last week as market volatility declined. President Trump’s administration was reportedly considering lower tariffs on China, while Beijing remained open to talks, provided there was no further escalation. The prospect of reduced tariffs dampened inflation expectations, increasing the likelihood of interest rate cuts and, consequently, lower bond yields. President Trump’s confirmation that he would not seek to dismiss Fed Chair Powell also supported bond markets. TheUS 10-year yield ended at 4.25% on Friday, while in the UK, the 10-year gilt yield fell to 4.48%, as lower inflation and weak manufacturing and services PMI figures bolstered expectations of future rate cuts by the Bank of England.

Commodities

Crude oil prices dipped slightly, pressured by expectations of increased supply. OPEC+ members are anticipated to announce an accelerated output hike in June, following a similar move in April. Additionally, the potential easing of sanctions on Russia and Iran could further increase global supply, placing downward pressure on prices. However, prices remained supported by optimism surrounding US-China trade negotiations. For the week, Brent crude closed at $66.87, while WTI closed at $63.02. Inmetals, gold prices retreated from highs of $3,500 as the improved outlook on US-China negotiations reduced demand for safe-haven assets.

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