Last week was a busy one for corporate earnings, with five of the so‑called “Magnificent Seven” reporting results. Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta and Microsoft all announced earnings, and strong growth trends were a common theme across the group. Alphabet stood out, delivering a sharp acceleration in Google Cloud revenues¹, while Amazon posted its fastest quarterly growth in its cloud division for several years, underlining the continued momentum behind enterprise and AI‑related demand². Microsoft and Apple also reported solid performances, consistent with expectations. Meta Platforms likewise delivered an impressive operational update, though sentiment was tempered by the announcement that AI‑related capital expenditure will exceed earlier guidance this year, triggering a sharp pullback in the share price³. Jerome Powell’s final Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting as Chair was also observed closely by market participants although no changes were implemented on this occasion. Despite volatility at stock level, the broader market responded positively. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% over the week (in dollar terms), taking the index to a gain of more than 10% for April, its strongest monthly performance in five years.

Equity performance across Europe was more subdued over the week. The MSCI Europe ex‑UK index finished broadly flat (in euro terms), with gains in Italy and Germany offset by a pullback in France amid a cautious macro backdrop. A similar pattern was evident in the UK, where both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 edged -0.2% lower. Central‑bank activity did little to alter sentiment. Much like the Federal Reserve, both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) left policy settings unchanged, choosing to prioritise caution as inflation risks remain elevated against the backdrop of ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Asian markets delivered a more mixed performance. In China, the Shanghai Composite gained +0.8% (in renminbi), buoyed by a ratings upgrade from Moody’s, which revised the country’s outlook to stable from negative⁴. By contrast, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped -0.3% (in yen terms), with domestic equity moves unsettled by pronounced volatility in the currency.

Commodity markets saw divergent moves across the week as inflation and rate dynamics remained the dominant drivers. Brent crude rose +2.6% to $108 a barrel, extending its recent rally as ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept supply‑side risks firmly priced in. Concerns around shipping routes and limited global spare capacity continued to underpin the move. By contrast, gold fell -1.8% to $4,635 an ounce, retreating as higher Treasury yields and a firmer US dollar eroded demand for non‑yielding assets.

¹ Alphabet Inc – Q1 Earnings Release
² Amazon Inc – Q1 Earnings Release
³ Meta Platforms Inc – Q1 Earnings Release
⁴ Trading Economics – China Credit Rating

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