Finance The Week That Was

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%.

The week ending October 10, 2025, was defined by extreme sentiment reversal. An AI-fueled rally pushed US indices to all-time highs, but this was shattered Friday by the US-China trade war’s re-escalation. Threats of “massive” new US tariffs and strategic Chinese retaliation, including rare earth controls, triggered a global sell-off, overriding all other factors.

Global equity markets surged to fresh records, fueled by intense optimism for U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, which eclipsed government shutdown concerns. This bullish sentiment was reinforced by the underlying Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment cycle. The S&P 500 set new highs, completing its seventh winning week in nine.

The week ending September 26, 2025, showed global market divergence driven by new U.S. tariffs and rate speculation. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, supported by in-line inflation data (core PCE at 2.9%) which maintained rate cut hopes. Conversely, India suffered a sharp 2.7% loss due to pharma tariffs and FII outflows. Australia proved resilient, gaining 0.16% from mining sector strength.