{"id":12256,"date":"2026-05-26T07:50:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sib.co.ke\/reports\/?p=12256"},"modified":"2026-05-26T07:50:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:50:54","slug":"sib-global-markets-weekly-brief-25-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sib.co.ke\/reports\/sib-global-markets-weekly-brief-25-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"SIB GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKLY BRIEF |\u00a025 May 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-83211029-ae19-44e2-b0b8-6c2d1f062f96\" href=\"https:\/\/sib.co.ke\/reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SIB-Weekly-GM-Brief-25th-May-2026.pdf\">SIB Weekly GM Brief 25th May 2026<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sib.co.ke\/reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SIB-Weekly-GM-Brief-25th-May-2026.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-83211029-ae19-44e2-b0b8-6c2d1f062f96\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ae118e2ddeb7dc9c98619767557ec441\" style=\"color:#a9851b\">Highlights<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Major U.S. equity indexes ended the week in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record high, while the S&amp;P 500 extended its rally for an eighth straight week\u2014the longest streak since 2023. Smaller companies and value-oriented stocks continued to outperform larger growth-focused shares, and the equal-weighted S&amp;P 500 surpassed the traditional market-cap-weighted index. After a shaky start to the week, investor sentiment improved as optimism surrounding artificial intelligence stocks strengthened, helped by better-than-expected earnings from chipmaker NVIDIA. This enthusiasm largely offset lingering uncertainty over tensions in the Middle East. Although news regarding potential negotiations between the U.S. and Iran remained inconsistent, markets generally appeared to favour the prospect of diplomacy over further military escalation. Fresh economic data from S&amp;P Global showed modest overall growth in May. However, the inflation-related components of the survey drew particular attention. Input costs rose at their fastest pace since late 2022, and selling price inflation climbed to its highest level since August 2022, reinforcing concerns that inflation pressures remain persistent. The report also showed an overall decline in employment as companies cited higher costs and weaker demand. Further, the University of Michigan\u2019s consumer sentiment index fell for a third consecutive month in May, dropping to a record low of 44.8. Similarly, housing-related data painted a subdued picture as higher borrowing costs continued to weigh on demand. Across the Atlantic Pond, European markets advanced broadly as hopes for easing tensions in the Middle East boosted sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up almost 3%. The European Commission lowered its economic growth forecast for the eurozone, warning that rising energy costs and geopolitical instability could weigh heavily on the region. Inflation projections for 2026 were also revised upward. Meanwhile, the UK labour market weakened further, with unemployment unexpectedly rising and job vacancies falling to a five-year low. However, inflation slowed more than expected, helped by energy price caps. Over in Asia, Japanese stocks rebounded strongly, led by technology and AI-related shares as global enthusiasm for the sector intensified following strong semiconductor earnings. The Nikkei 225 was up an impressive 3.14% for the week while the TOPIX added a modest 0.74%. The yen weakened after softer inflation data showed core consumer prices rising below expectations and remaining under the Bank of Japan\u2019s target for a third consecutive month. Lower inflation reduced immediate pressure for tighter monetary policy, contributing to bearish sentiment toward the currency. Japan\u2019s economy also exceeded expectations in the first quarter, supported by solid consumer spending and export growth, although analysts cautioned that the data may not yet fully reflect the impact of rising energy prices. In contrast, Chinese equities declined after weak April economic data renewed concerns about slowing growth. Industrial production, retail sales, and fixed asset investment all came in below expectations, reinforcing speculation that further policy support may be needed. The People\u2019s Bank of China kept benchmark lending rates unchanged for a twelfth straight month, signalling a preference for targeted fiscal and sector-specific measures rather than broad monetary stimulus. On the geopolitical front, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing, where China and Russia signed numerous agreements covering trade, energy, and technology cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6cadbfa1449bb196d99eb225e154353a\" style=\"color:#a9851b\">Data Highlights<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada\u2019s inflation rate eased to 2.8% YoY in April, falling short of the 3.1% forecast but remaining above the previous 2.4%. Across the Eurozone, inflation accelerated to 3.0%, matching expectations and rising from the previous 2.6%. The U.K. unemployment rate climbed to 5.0%, slightly above both the 4.9% forecast and the prior reading, pointing to a gradual softening in labour market conditions. China\u2019s unemployment rate edged lower to 5.2%, improving from the previous 5.4% and coming in below the 5.3% forecast. Japan\u2019s economy expanded by 2.1% YoY in Q1, surpassing both the 1.7% forecast and the previous 0.8% growth. However, Japan\u2019s inflation rate slowed to 1.4%, missing expectations of 1.8% and easing from the prior 1.5% reading. In Australia, the unemployment rate rose to 4.5%, exceeding both the 4.3% forecast and the previous level, suggesting some weakening in labour market conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-40788dd2d2ea969a306cadb9ac787e3a\" style=\"color:#a9851b\">Week Ahead<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Australia Inflation Rate YoY (Apr), New Zealand Interest Rate Decision, &#8211; Wednesday | US GDP Growth QoQ (Q1), US PCE Price Index YoY (Apr) &#8211; Thursday | Japan Unemployment Rate, Japan Retail Sales YoY, Canada GDP Growth Rate QoQ (Q1)- Friday<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5727d81fa0ed1267a12feccd7f8da734\" style=\"color:#a9851b\">Read Full Report<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-83211029-ae19-44e2-b0b8-6c2d1f062f96\" href=\"https:\/\/sib.co.ke\/reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SIB-Weekly-GM-Brief-25th-May-2026.pdf\">SIB Weekly GM Brief 25th May 2026<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sib.co.ke\/reports\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SIB-Weekly-GM-Brief-25th-May-2026.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-83211029-ae19-44e2-b0b8-6c2d1f062f96\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights Major U.S. equity indexes ended the week in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record high, while the S&amp;P 500 extended its rally for an eighth straight week\u2014the longest streak since 2023. Smaller companies and value-oriented stocks continued to outperform larger growth-focused shares, and the equal-weighted S&amp;P 500 surpassed the traditional&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172,1],"tags":[316,242,195,184,308,116,140,332],"class_list":["post-12256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-markets-reports","category-weekly-reports","tag-dow-jones-industrial-index","tag-euro-stoxx-600","tag-gold","tag-inflation","tag-nvidia","tag-sp-500","tag-treasury-yields","tag-us-iran-war"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SIB GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKLY BRIEF |\u00a025 May 2026 - Standard Investment Bank<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Major U.S. equity indexes ended the week in positive territory. 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