Last Week's Recap
The US Market - Market ended shortened week at record highs
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both reached new all-time highs on Thursday, capping a 5.5% gain for the first half of 2025. It marked the end of a dramatic second quarter, which began with a sharp selloff in April driven by heightened uncertainty. Since then, a 90-day tariff pause and progress on trade negotiations helped lift stocks to fresh highs.
Investor rotation into non-tech sectors, the Dow rose by approximately 2.3% over the week, buoyed by strong performances in the transportation and utilities sectors.
June nonfarm payrolls rose by 147,000, beating expectations of 110,000 and surpassing May’s upwardly revised 144,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, signaling continued labor market resilience. The upbeat data pushed Treasury yields higher and dampened expectations for imminent Fed rate cuts.
President Trump announced a new U.S.-Vietnam trade agreement on Wednesday. Investors now look ahead to potential announcements next week as Trump’s early July deadline for his 90-day tariff pause approaches.
The US Sectors & Stocks - Apple rallied over 6%
All 11 S&P 500 sectors ended the week in positive territory, with over 30 stocks hitting 52-week highs. Basic materials (+3.59%) and financials (+2.64%) led the gains.
Semiconductor stocks surged, buoyed by supportive tax legislation. Nvidia and TSMC saw strong inflows as investor optimism returned.
Apple (AAPL) rallied 6.2%, following upbeat analyst revisions and renewed enthusiasm for an AI-enhanced Siri. Bloomberg reported Apple is exploring partnerships with OpenAI or Anthropic to accelerate its AI capabilities.
Oracle (ORCL) soared 13% to an all-time high, fueled by reports of an expanded Stargate data center project in partnership with OpenAI. Oracle recently disclosed a major cloud deal worth $30 billion annually starting in 2028.
Tesla (TSLA) slipped 2.5%, it reported Q2 deliveries of 384,122 units, down 13.5% YoY but above both expectations and Q1’s 337,000 figure. Elon Musk wrote on X on Saturday, which he owns, that he’s launching a new U.S. political party, which he calls the “America Party”.
A U.S.-Vietnam tariff deal boosted apparel stocks reliant on Vietnamese manufacturing, including Nike (NKE) and Lululemon (LULU).
Tripadvisor (TRIP) surged 34% as activist investor Starboard Value disclosed a 9% stake, according to WSJ.
Datadog (DDOG) jumped 17.5% after S&P Global announced the stock’s inclusion in the S&P 500, effective July 9.
Cadence Design (CDNS) and Synopsys (SNPS) gained over 5% each after U.S. officials lifted restrictions on exporting chip-design software to China.
Centene (CNC) plunged 38.3% after withdrawing its 2025 guidance, citing unexpected turbulence in the health insurance market.
Hong Kong Market - HSI lost 1.5%
Hong Kong Market registered the biggest weekly loss in almost three months. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell by 1.5% over the week, closing at 23,916.06. The decline was driven by mixed market signals, including concerns about global trade tensions before a deadline of July 9.
Alibaba Group (9988.HK) declined by 6.3%, its instant commerce service announced a substantial subsidy programme totalling 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion) over the next 12 months for both consumers and merchants, intensifying the fierce competition in China’s on-demand delivery sector, where JD.com and Meituan are also major players. The company also plans to issue around HK$12 billion ($1.53 billion) through exchangeable bonds to boost investments in its cloud infrastructure and global commerce operations.
New World Development (0017.HK) experienced a big swing after closing an HK$88.2 billion ($11.2 billion) refinancing deal, easing near-term default fears. The package, one of the largest ever in Hong Kong.
Singapore Market - STI hit a new high
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 1.2% for the week, closing at 4013.62, its highest level this year. The rally reflects growing investor confidence, supported by robust corporate earnings and positive sentiment.
Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68) surged over 3% to an all-time high, boosted by optimism around a strong IPO pipeline and increased market activity.
Solid earnings across real estate and REITs sectors underpinned the week’s gains. Notably, Keppel DC REIT — recently added to the STI — saw its shares rebound to $2.33, near a 52-week high. As Singapore’s largest listed data center REIT, it manages approximately $5 billion in assets.
Australian Market - ASX rose 1.04%
The Australian stock market experienced a modest rise this week, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) increasing by 1.04%, influenced by dovish RBA expectations.
The local bourse pushed higher during the afternoon’s session after Australia’s retail sales came in below expectations. This led to ANZ becoming the final of the major banks to forecast the RBA would cut interest rate in July by 25 basis points after its July 8 meeting.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises (DMP.AU) saw a decline of 7.07% this week, following the announcement that Group CEO and Managing Director Mark Van Dyck will depart by the year-end. This unexpected leadership change has unsettled investors, prompting a significant sell-off. The company's board has commenced a global search for Van Dyck's successor, indicating a transitional phase.
The Week Ahead
Macro Factors - Wall Street braces for trade deadlines
This week, investors will closely watch President Trump’s looming trade deadlines, as the 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs expires Tuesday. Without a deal, tariffs of 10% to 70% could be imposed on dozens of countries. The deadline to reach a U.S.-EU agreement to avoid a 50% levy on EU imports also falls on Wednesday.
That said, most market participants anticipate a further extension of negotiations. The White House recently downplayed the urgency of the July deadlines, calling them “not critical,” fueling expectations that the harshest tariffs outlined in April may not materialize.
Despite the uncertainty, investors have remained resilient, consistently buying dips over the past two months — a strategy that has largely paid off as markets rebounded to fresh highs.
On the data front, focus will turn to the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index and the New York Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations, both due Tuesday, followed by FOMC minutes from the June meeting on Wednesday, which may offer more clues about the Fed's rate outlook.
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