It was another interesting week for market participants. Perhaps the most important event was news that the United States and Iran are closing in on a permanent peace deal. Although the two sides have negotiated a temporary cease fire, there is still no agreement to officially end hostilities.
This had an impact on oil and gold prices as they both took a significant tumble as the week progressed. Gold dropped below $4,400 an ounce before rebounding to close the week roughly where it had opened on Monday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil dropped from around $100 a barrel at the start of the week to about $90 at the close of Friday.
The other major news event this week was the release of the Core PCE Price Index and the preliminary GDP figures for the first quarter of the 2026. The Core PCE Price Index is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and came in at 0.2 percent for the month compared to an expected rise of 0.3 percent.
Preliminary GDP data suggests that the economy grew by 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026. This was less than the expected growth of 2 percent, and it could be a sign the economy might finally be wilting from the weight of higher inflation and wage pressures. For what it’s worth, unemployment claims rose slightly in the past week to 215,000 requests for benefits.
Consumer confidence was up slightly according to data from the Consumer Board. On Tuesday, it was revealed that consumer confidence was at 93.1 compared to an expected 91.9. However, that was still slightly lower than last month’s 93.8, and generally speaking, any reading lower than 100 suggests consumer pessimism. The data also meshes with the consensus from the University of Michigan that says consumers are extremely pessimistic about where the economy is going.
Despite what consumers might feel right now, the stock market continues to be resilient. The S&P 500 was up 90 points this week to close at 7,580. This was a 1.2 percent increase from the start of trading on Monday, and in the last 12 months, the index is up just over 28 percent. For the week, the index made a low of 7,506 on Tuesday and a high of 7,595 on Friday.
The Dow was also in the green this week, closing up 382 points to finish the week at 51,032. This was a 0.76 percent increase over the past several days for an index that is up almost 1,800 points over the past month and up about 21 percent over the past 12 months. This week, the index made a low of 50,367 on Tuesday and a high of 51,068 late on Friday.
Finally, the Nasdaq was up 2 percent this week to close at 26,972. That was an increase of about 531 points for the index that has continued to achieve the highest rates of return for investors of the three major markets. Over the past 12 months, the Nasdaq is up over 40 percent. This week, the Nasdaq made a low of 26,548 on Tuesday and a high of 27,084 on Friday.
In international news, Australia reported on Tuesday that inflation was up 0.4 percent over the last month, which translated to 4.2 percent on an annualized basis. Also on Tuesday, New Zealand announced that it would hold its key interest rate at 2.25 percent. On Thursday night, Japan announced that its inflation rate was 1.3 percent on an annualized basis.
For the coming week, we can expect the jobs reports to be released on Wednesday and Friday. In addition, the ISM Services and ISM Manufacturing PMI reports will come out, as well as the JOLTS labor report. Central bank governors from most major economies are also expected to speak throughout the week, which could give some insight into which direction the Fed might take on monetary policy in the United States.