Your Sunday Market Brief
Opening Insight
Good morning ladies,
This week showed its teeth. Tech cracked, Powell stayed hawkish, and the data didn’t show up. The S&P held flat, but under the surface, rotation ruled—out of growth, into value. Crypto split. XRP soared on ETF news, Solana slid on unlocks, and ETH held firm.
The story? Selectivity. Cisco rose on clarity, Disney fell on confusion, Tesla got repriced. Investors aren’t chasing—they’re choosing. And right now, control trumps narrative.
Market Recap
Markets opened strong but turned cautious midweek. The Fed’s hawkish tone and a lack of CPI/jobs data pulled rate-cut odds down, lifting yields. That hit tech hard, dragging the Nasdaq into red territory.
Value sectors like financials and healthcare cushioned the S&P. Earnings were mixed, but dip-buying late Friday helped indexes stabilize. Risk appetite remains—but it’s getting choosier.
The S&P 500 ended flat, masking undercurrents of rotation. Growth sold off as yields climbed, while financials and healthcare caught inflows. A mixed macro picture and cautious Fed left markets range-bound into the weekend.
The Nasdaq 100 broke its win streak, falling on valuation and yield pressure. A 3-day midweek drop hit megacaps hard—Nvidia, Tesla, Broadcom all slid. Friday’s bounce helped, but tech sentiment is clearly softening.
Stocks That Won The Week
CISCO
Cisco rose after a strong earnings beat and raised outlook. Investors rewarded stability and cash flow in a shaky tech tape.
DOORDASH
DoorDash jumped on news of an Old Navy delivery pilot. A non-restaurant growth play gave it new life after last week’s stumble.
WARNERBROS
Warner Bros. popped on takeover chatter. A consortium of streamers is reportedly circling, driving speculative inflows.
Stocks That Lost The Week
DISNEY
Disney missed revenue and warned of a YouTube TV fight. Cord-cutting and content concerns weighed heavily.
TESLA
Tesla dropped on rising rates and fresh EV demand fears. Analysts flagged softening growth under tighter credit.
NVIDIA
Nvidia slid ahead of earnings. Valuation anxiety and AI fatigue fueled the pullback despite a Friday bounce.
Sector Snapshot
Sector | Weekly Change | YTD Change |
|---|---|---|
Technology | –4.2% | +23.1% |
Energy | +1.5% | +8.9% |
Financials | +1.0% | +9.7% |
Industrials | +0.8% | +15.3% |
Healthcare | +0.6% | +9.0% |
Tech led to the downside, falling –4.2% as yields rose. Energy (+1.5%), financials (+1.0%), and healthcare (+0.6%) outperformed. Value and defensives caught a bid as growth got repriced.
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Crypto Recap
Crypto softened across the board. Bitcoin fell 5.7% as rate-cut hopes faded and ETF inflows slowed. Ethereum held up better, dipping 6.9% on continued staking demand.
Solana dropped 16.7% — ETF inflows were overshadowed by a major token unlock tied to FTX. Meanwhile, XRP outperformed, gaining ~3.5% after the first U.S. spot XRP ETF launched.
Risk rotated toward altcoins with headlines. Positioning, not panic, drove the moves.
Performance Overview
Asset | Weekly Change | YTD Change |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin (BTC) | –5.7% | +121% |
Ethereum (ETH) | –6.9% | +44% |
Solana (SOL) | –16.7% | –33.6% |
XRP | –11.1% | +190.5% |
Mover Of The Week
XRP rallied after its U.S. spot ETF debut, drawing early inflows and regulatory optimism. While majors pulled back, XRP stood out on real traction and clean volume.
In a choppy week, the token’s clear catalyst made it the most decisive trade in crypto.
Commodities Recap
Gold and silver fell 2.5% and 3.3% as real yields rose and haven flows eased. China’s weak data pulled copper down 1.7%.
Oil gained 0.9% after OPEC+ paused output hikes and U.S. inventories surprised to the downside. Macro pressure dominated, but energy held up.
Asset | Weekly Change | YTD Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
Gold | –2.5% | +13.1% | Fed caution boosted safe-haven demand. |
Oil (WTI) | +0.9% | +6.1% | Supply concerns offset weak demand. |
Copper | –1.7% | +2.4% | Chinese stimulus hopes kept prices firm. |
Silver | –3.3% | +8.5% | Tracked gold with industrial support. |
Macro Drivers
Rates and risk appetite set the tone across commodity markets. Hawkish Fed comments pushed the 10-year yield above 4.15%, sapping gold and silver’s momentum. At the same time, the end of the U.S. government shutdown removed a key driver of fear-based positioning.
With no October CPI or jobs data released, investors were left reading signals from peripheral indicators. Real-time labor data showed softness, but the Fed held its ground — casting doubt on a December rate cut. That boosted real rates and pressured inflation hedges.
In China, economic momentum wobbled. Industrial activity missed expectations, and manufacturing PMIs declined, weighing on base metal demand projections. Copper took the hit.
Oil stayed above water, aided by supply discipline. OPEC+ avoided new hikes beyond December, and U.S. draws hinted at steady demand. Combined with a slightly weaker dollar, that gave crude a narrow path higher — even as other commodities slipped.
Final Take
Markets don’t need fear to sell off. Sometimes, it’s just clarity vanishing. That’s what happened this week: no data, hawkish tone, and tech valuations that stopped making sense. The Fed didn’t hand out any relief, and suddenly the high-flyers didn’t have altitude.
We saw two markets run in parallel: one where value rotated in — Cisco, healthcare, energy names — and another where risk premium got ripped out of growth. Nvidia, Tesla, Meta all slid without warning.
Crypto followed the same theme. Bitcoin lost momentum as yields rose. XRP surged on a real catalyst. It wasn’t sentiment—it was signal.
The tape is doing its job. It’s not punishing risk, it’s pricing uncertainty. In a week with no CPI, no jobs data, and no rate cut path, that pricing got sharper. This isn’t fear. It’s filtration.
If you’re long this market, be long the things that tell the truth.
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