You wouldn’t know, by looking at the S&P500’s performance on Friday, that a US regional bank was having a rough time. Almost a year into last year’s regional bank crisis and about a month after a first post-earnings free-fall, the New York Community Bancorp – a commercial real estate lender in New York – fell more than 25% on Friday after saying that it discovered ‘material weaknesses’ in the way it tracks loan risks. But the KBW’s bank ETF closed the session near flat, the S&P500 rose to a fresh record, its 15th fresh record since the year began, Nasdaq 100 advanced to a fresh record as well, even the small cap index closed the week at an almost 2-year high. Stocks in Europe also closed the week on a high note, while the Japanese Nikkei hit a fresh record before giving back advance early Monday.
This week, investors will focus on the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual testimony before Congress, the US jobs data, the European Central Bank (ECB) decision and China’s National
Congress. US crude made an attempt above the $80pb mark on Friday, on rumours that OPEC+ would extend its production cuts to the 2nd quarter. The weekend news confirmed the rumours. The barrel of American crude saw a limited enthusiasm however above the $80pb after the announcement – a sign that OPEC cuts alone won’t keep the price of crude above the $80pb level.
