Weekly Financial News — May 29, 2026

🌍 Dominant Theme of the Week

The trading week running from May 22 to May 29, 2026 was dominated by the frenzy around artificial intelligence, which pushed Middle East geopolitical tensions into the background. Wall Street strung together record after record — the Nasdaq-100 posted five consecutive all-time closing highs — even as the standoff between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz remains unresolved. Markets shifted from a fear narrative (rising bond yields, sticky inflation, oil volatility) toward an exuberant story driven by Nvidia, Dell and the hyperscalers, illustrating once again the “fear of missing the opportunity of the century” highlighted by Zonebourse editors. Market caps among AI leaders are pulverizing symbolic thresholds: it took until August 2018 for Apple to become the first company to cross $1 trillion; today, the leaders advance by full trillion-dollar increments. In parallel, the pullback in Brent crude helped ease inflation fears and allowed European markets to extend their rebound.

📉 Weekly Market Performance

Major global indices continued to climb, with clear outperformance from U.S. tech and Japan. Closing levels on May 28, 2026, and 7-day changes:

Among CAC 40 single stocks, the previous week’s sector dynamic largely persisted. STMicroelectronics (+9.65% the prior week) remains lifted by the semiconductors/AI theme. ArcelorMittal (+8.69%) and Publicis (+8.04%) also outperformed, reflecting appetite for cyclicals and media. By contrast, French construction majors continued to struggle: Eiffage (-7.35%), Vinci (-2.37%) and Bouygues (-2.32%) weighed on the Paris benchmark. In the U.S., the standout corporate event was Dell‘s earnings, which sent the stock soaring more than 30% in after-hours trading Thursday evening (toward $410), pulling Nasdaq futures to new highs.

🛢️ Commodities & Energy

The week’s big move came from oil. After several weeks of overheating tied to Strait of Hormuz tensions, Brent crude dropped sharply, losing nearly 12% between Friday May 22 and Thursday May 28 to close at $91.45 per barrel. The reversal followed an Iranian state TV report describing a tentative agreement that would normalize maritime traffic through the strait within one month, under the joint oversight of Tehran and Oman. Washington did not confirm the same terms, but the mere prospect of de-escalation was enough to trigger profit-taking. The crude pullback mechanically eased inflation pressure and supported risk assets.

Gold, however, remains very firm. The yellow metal closed at $4,516.30 per ounce, up +0.48% on the session and roughly flat for the week. This historically elevated level reflects structural demand from emerging-market central banks, distrust of Western sovereign debt, and gold’s role as a hedge against residual geopolitical risk.

🏦 Central Banks

At its most recent meeting (April), the ECB Governing Council left its three key rates unchanged: main refinancing rate at 2.15%, deposit rate at 2.00% and marginal lending facility at 2.40%. President Christine Lagarde all but confirmed a June rate cut, judging inflation under control. Markets now price up to three cuts by year-end, with the first expected at next month’s meeting.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking the opposite stance. Its policy rate remains in the 3.50%–3.75% band, and the latest minutes surprised with a more hawkish tone — some members are not ruling out an additional hike if inflation rebounds with energy. Expectations for a first cut have been pushed beyond September. This transatlantic divergence is widening the gap between the two institutions and weighing on the euro, which struggles to break above $1.17.

📊 Macro Data

The week confirmed that inflation is becoming entrenched. In the U.S., the latest releases show core inflation remains sticky, with core CPI above 3% year-over-year. In the euro area, inflation continues to converge toward the 2% target, justifying the ECB’s upcoming pivot. Bond yields fluctuated: the U.S. 10-year tightened early in the week on inflation fears, then retreated after crude eased. European consumer confidence ticked up slightly, while U.S. durable goods orders disappointed — a sign the real economy is slowing despite stock-market euphoria.

🪙 Cryptocurrencies

The crypto market saw mixed action. Bitcoin holds around $80,000 after flirting with that symbolic threshold. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a sixth consecutive session of outflows mid-May, with $1.26 billion withdrawn over one week — the largest weekly outflow since late January 2026. Rising bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like Bitcoin. Even so, cumulative net inflows since the January 2024 ETF launch top $58.72 billion, confirming structural demand for regulated Bitcoin exposure. On the institutional side, Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) posted $95 million in net inflows with zero outflows, confirming the investor base is broadening beyond BlackRock’s iShares. Overall sentiment remains neutral to cautious, with the Fear & Greed Index hovering in neutral territory.

💱 Currencies

EUR/USD ended the week roughly unchanged near 1.1645, after attempting a rebound toward 1.17 that failed to hold. Diverging monetary policy between an ECB about to ease and a still-hawkish Fed caps the euro’s upside. GBP/USD trades at 1.3439, slightly lower. USD/JPY remains at extreme levels at 159.3, fueling speculation about possible Bank of Japan intervention. The yen continues to suffer from the persistent rate differential.

📈 Investment Themes & Analysis

Three themes dominated this week’s newsletters. First, the AI “anything goes” mode: analysts at Club des Investisseurs Indépendants (Felix Baron) emphasize the catalyst role played by Nvidia — the “green giant” — which continues to lift the entire tech complex. Investor logic remains avowed FOMO. Second, the analysis of political trades: the Money Radar newsletter devoted its weekly edition to a detailed review of Donald Trump’s 3,711 transactions, highlighting the substantial sums (over $750 million) potentially tied to inside information. The piece highlights the importance of the congressional disclosure register as a monitoring tool. Third, European sector rotation favors semiconductors (STMicro), materials (ArcelorMittal) and advertising (Publicis), at the expense of infrastructure concessions (Eiffage, Vinci, Bouygues), penalized by revised traffic outlooks and higher financing costs.

🧠 Editorial / Education

The week’s most striking editorial comes from Anthony Bondain (Zonebourse), who revisits the vertiginous acceleration of valuations. In August 2018, Apple became the first company in the world to top $1 trillion in market cap; Amazon and Alphabet trailed at $880 billion. Seven years later, thresholds are crossed by full trillions, and the club of companies worth more than France’s GDP now counts half a dozen members. The editor-in-chief poses an implicit question: how long can these valuations be sustained, and what happens if the real-world profitability of AI takes time to materialize for end users rather than only for infrastructure suppliers? The lesson for long-term investors: account for concentration risk (the “Magnificent 7” now make up more than a third of S&P 500 market cap) and diversify beyond the moment’s hot themes.

🔭 Observed Trends

Several structural trends strengthened this week. The tech-versus-European-cyclicals rotation continued, with a gradual exit from defensives in favor of growth and commodity plays. The stock/bond correlation remains unstable: both asset classes suffered then rebounded together, the hallmark of a market regime dominated by inflation expectations. The geographic decoupling between an easing-bound Europe and a still-hawkish U.S. is becoming a major allocation theme. Finally, the rebound in Asian emerging markets, illustrated by the Nikkei’s striking performance (+4.8% on the week, +2.61% on the May 28 session alone), points to renewed appetite for risk outside the dollar zone. Implicitly, the growing disconnect between the real economy (sluggish industrial orders, slowing consumption) and index performance, driven by a handful of mega-cap technology stocks, is also clear.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decision.