Market Summary

U.S. stocks staged a Friday rebound as investors digested a week of bond-market chaos and geopolitical escalation. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all climbed 0.4–1%, but remain firmly in the red for the week – snapping three-week winning streaks. The catalyst for the sell-off was a relentless rise in long-dated Treasury yields, with the 30-year touching 5.27% and the 10-year 4.73%, levels not seen since the pre-financial crisis era. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's surprise announcement to double bond buybacks provided only fleeting relief before yields snapped back higher, signaling deep skepticism about the Fed's ability to contain term premiums amid sticky inflation, massive deficit spending, and now a Middle East conflict driving oil up 6% this month.

Meanwhile, bitcoin staged its best week in nearly three years, surging past $77,000 on optimism around the pro-crypto Clarity Act and Trump administration support. That lifted the entire crypto equity complex. Tesla jumped 5% on reported Cybercab robotaxi progress and Nevada regulatory approval. But the tech sector broadly lagged, down 3%+ for the week, as higher rates hammered capital-intensive AI names. Retail earnings were a bloodbath: Walmart and Advance Auto Parts plunged on guidance misses, though discount retailer Ross Stores surged 7% on strong results. Gold rallied to a three-month high on dollar weakness, and global markets were mixed with Asia lower and Europe flat.