Finance The Week That Was

The week saw infrastructure fragility (CME outage) overshadowed by optimism. US markets rallied as the probability of a December Fed rate cut surged to a confident 85-87%. India delivered a stunning 8.2% Q2 GDP growth, reinforcing its status as the global economy’s primary engine. Policy divergence is now key.

The trading week ending November 21, 2025, involved a “Triple Whammy” of valuation recalibration, monetary ambiguity, and geopolitical realignment. The AI trade hit a “priced for perfection” phase, causing a tech rout led by Nvidia despite stellar earnings. Simultaneously, U.S.-brokered peace plans for Ukraine and Gaza reduced the war risk premium, collapsing crude oil and defence stock prices.

The week ending November 14, 2025, marked a “painful turning point”. Optimism died as the U.S. government shutdown caused a “data blackout”, shattering hopes for a Fed rate cut. This uncertainty provided the backdrop for an AI “crisis of confidence”. SoftBank’s sale of its entire Nvidia stake sparked a global sell-off over “stretched valuations”, ending the “everything rally”.

Global markets faced instability, driven by a 36-day U.S. government shutdown that caused a “data void”. A “relentless rally” built on narrow tech gains was abruptly shattered mid-week. A private report showing the highest layoffs since 2008 sent a shockwave, proving the foundation was fragile.

The final week of October delivered a volatile market rich with conflicting signals, where record highs coexisted with anxiety. A powerful U.S. rally, fueled by spectacular Amazon and Apple profits, contrasted sharply with tech stocks punished for massive AI spending. Globally, Japan’s Nikkei surged 6.0%, while China’s Hang Seng fell over 3.0%.

Global markets concluded the week ending October 24, 2025, at record highs, fueled by a powerful rally. This rebound overpowered earlier anxiety and tech earnings misses. The decisive catalyst was a softer U.S. CPI report, which solidified expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The FTSE 100 surged 3.1%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.8%.