e-crow/iStock via Getty Images By Sabatino Longo 2025 Market Performance Markets delivered a strong year in 2025 across most parts of the globe. The S&P World Index was up 23%, while the S&P 500 ® was up 18% and posted 39 record closing highs during the year, despite persistent geopolitical, tariff and inflation pressure. Sector leadership in the U.S. was taken by Communication Services and Inform...
e-crow/iStock via Getty Images By Sabatino Longo 2025 Market Performance Markets delivered a strong year in 2025 across most parts of the globe. The S&P World Index was up 23%, while the S&P 500 ® was up 18% and posted 39 record closing highs during the year, despite persistent geopolitical, tariff and inflation pressure. Sector leadership in the U.S. was taken by Communication Services and Information Technology, consistent with the market narrative dominated by continued investor focus on AI and digital infrastructure. The “AI story” was not uniform across tech though—gains remained concentrated in hardware, data centers and computers, while software lagged. Fixed income indices generally delivered positive performance globally in 2025. Monetary policy in the U.S. moved onto a rate-cutting path in the second half of the year. Federal Reserve rate cuts pushed short-term Treasury yields lower, with credit outperforming government bonds. Debt markets were increasingly tapped to finance structural investment themes, particularly AI-related infrastructure. Issuance linked to data centers and AI projects continued to rise. Commodity performance in 2025 was led by Metals, while Energy was weak. Precious Metals performed particularly well, with Gold and Silver reaching multiple record highs over the year. Industrial Metals also strengthened, benefiting from supply constraints and rising structural demand linked to higher demand for electricity and growing power needs from data centers and AI infrastructure. In contrast, Crude Oil prices generally declined in 2025 because global supply exceeded demand. Leading Thematic Performers in 2025 The strongest-performing themes in 2025 from our S&P Thematics Dashboard were generally supported by tangible, near-term investment. Precious Metals led the year. Silver (up 132%) and Gold (up 106%) stood out as macro uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical tensions sustained demand for real assets. Central bank buying and constrained supply ...
The law enforcement tech company has delivered blistering returns over the last decade. Delivering gains on the stock market year in and year out isn't easy. Most stocks are subject to the same cyclical and macroeconomic forces that affect the broad market, and major indexes like the S&P 500 have losing years from time to time. On average, the S&P 500 falls about once in every four years. From 201...
The law enforcement tech company has delivered blistering returns over the last decade. Delivering gains on the stock market year in and year out isn't easy. Most stocks are subject to the same cyclical and macroeconomic forces that affect the broad market, and major indexes like the S&P 500 have losing years from time to time. On average, the S&P 500 falls about once in every four years. From 2016-2024, the S&P 500 had two losing years, in 2018 and 2022, but Axon Enterprise (AXON 1.32%) was the rare stock that generated a positive return in every one of those nine years. It was a remarkable streak for the TASER maker and law enforcement technology company that saw it expand beyond its core in electrical weapons to an array of body and dashboard cameras as well as complementary software to help law enforcement agencies manage things like evidence, records, and prosecutions. From the end of 2015 to 2024, the stock jumped a whopping 3,340% with a surge coming at the end of 2024 as the chart below shows. That jump in late 2024 may have contributed to the end of the streak the following year as Axon stock fell by 4% in 2025 even after it spent much of the year in positive territory, up by more than 40% at one point. The 4% decline compared to a 16% gain in the S&P 500, making it the first time it underperformed the S&P 500 since 2017. So was 2025 just an anomaly for Axon? Can the law enforcement tech stock get back on track this year? Let's take a look at what to expect from the company in 2026. Where Axon is today Axon's slump last year had more to do with its lofty valuation coming into 2025 after the stock doubled in the second half of 2024, rather than any particular flaws with the business. In fact, Axon has delivered one of the strongest revenue growth streaks in its history, with revenue growth above 30% in the last seven quarters and in 14 of the last 15 quarters. However, the stock's growth was hampered by multiple expansion as its price-to-sales ratio jumped f...
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 30: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk to a room for a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump has widened his tariff playbook, unleashing a string of warnings and policy moves that affect Beijing's interests without direct...
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 30: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk to a room for a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump has widened his tariff playbook, unleashing a string of warnings and policy moves that affect Beijing's interests without directly escalating tariffs on Chinese goods. But analysts are hopeful that the recent geopolitical turmoil is unlikely to unravel the delicate U.S.-China trade truce, as Beijing appears to be betting that Trump's threats will not be enforced in ways that meaningfully harm China. Both sides are seeking to keep plans on track for an upcoming leaders meeting in April. "Beijing is watching," but is likely to respond cautiously to Trump's latest tariff threats, said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation. She said Trump is unlikely to follow through on threats, such as imposing 100% tariffs on Canada, or on many of his other warnings to trade partners. "There is no reason to provoke any other reaction from Washington at this time [as] both the U.S. and China are trying to maintain the fragile truce through Trump's planned visit to China in April," Elms added. Gabriel Wildau, managing director at consultancy firm Teneo, said Chinese leaders may doubt Trump will follow through on his latest tariff threats, given that he has largely retreated from earlier measures after backlash from financial markets and the business community. Trump's expanding playbook Over the past month, the Trump administration has seized control of Venezuelan oil flows , a crucial source of crude for China, and threatened a 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran, a move that could hit Beijing as Tehran's largest oil customer. Trump had also threatened to take over Greenland, raising concern in Beijing, which has sought to develop Arctic shipping routes and has shown interest in the...
(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly higher on Tuesday, with trade tensions, upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision and mega-cap tech earnings likely to be in focus. In the United States, companies accounting for roughly a third of the S&P 500's market capitalization are due to unveil their quarterly earnings results this week. Amid AI hype and concerns about stretched valuations, ...
(RTTNews) - European stocks are seen opening broadly higher on Tuesday, with trade tensions, upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision and mega-cap tech earnings likely to be in focus. In the United States, companies accounting for roughly a third of the S&P 500's market capitalization are due to unveil their quarterly earnings results this week. Amid AI hype and concerns about stretched valuations, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla are slated to report their quarterly results later this week. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with investors looking for clues on the Fed's future rate path. President Trump is expected to nominate a new Federal Reserve Chair within days. Meanwhile, India and the European Union have concluded negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement after nearly 20 years. Among the key announcements expected are cuts in tariffs on European cars and wine, as well as on Indian electronics and textiles. According to European Council President Antonio Costa, the "mother of all trade deals" sends a significant political message against rising tariffs and protectionism amid global uncertainties triggered by Trump's policies. Asian markets were broadly higher as data showed profits at China's industrial firms rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in 2025 after three years of declines. After U.S. President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on goods imported from South Korea to 25 percent, citing Seoul's failure to ratify trade deal, the ruling Democratic Party reportedly said it will pass a planned investment bill in the U.S. by February. The Japanese yen held firm after two straight sessions of sharp gains amid speculation of possible joint currency intervention. The dollar traded lower on geopolitical concerns while gold jumped over 1 percent to scale a new record high above $5,060 an ounce due to a looming U.S. government shutdown and concerns over President Trump's policie...
Seeking Alpha More on AGNC Investment AGNC Investment: 3 Floating Preferred Shares Offer Over 9% Yield If You Want mREIT Dividends, Rithm Capital Outshines AGNC Investment Flight To Safety: Why AGNC's 13.4% Dividend Is The Ultimate Recession Hedge AGNC Investment Q4 earnings trail consensus as backdrop improves AGNC Investment Non-GAAP EPS of $0.35 misses by $0.02
Seeking Alpha More on AGNC Investment AGNC Investment: 3 Floating Preferred Shares Offer Over 9% Yield If You Want mREIT Dividends, Rithm Capital Outshines AGNC Investment Flight To Safety: Why AGNC's 13.4% Dividend Is The Ultimate Recession Hedge AGNC Investment Q4 earnings trail consensus as backdrop improves AGNC Investment Non-GAAP EPS of $0.35 misses by $0.02
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy | Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy – US LNG plants reduce gas intake US natural gas prices continued their rally yesterday, with front-month Henry Hub settling almost 29% higher at $6.80/MMBtu. This takes the total gains since 19 January to almost 120%. Yet the move in US natural gas is even more aston...
onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy | Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy – US LNG plants reduce gas intake US natural gas prices continued their rally yesterday, with front-month Henry Hub settling almost 29% higher at $6.80/MMBtu. This takes the total gains since 19 January to almost 120%. Yet the move in US natural gas is even more astonishing when looking at the spot Henry Hub price, which briefly broke above $30/MMBtu in recent days. It’s been driven by a severe winter storm across the US. This is impacting natural gas production and boosting heating demand. The storm is estimated to have hit around 11% of US natural gas production. The key question for the outlook, obviously, is how long this disruption lasts. There are some signs that production is already recovering, with gas output from the Permian estimated to be up 11% day-on-day yesterday. If this trend continues, it suggests prices have likely peaked. Developments in the US natural gas market remain a concern for the European market, as supply disruptions could weigh on US LNG exports to Europe. In recent days, US LNG plants have significantly reduced their gas intake, estimated to be down around 48%, which will translate into reduced LNG exports from these plants. TTF continues to trade at a healthy premium to Asian LNG to ensure LNG cargoes move into Europe, where storage has now fallen below 45% full. It’s looking increasingly likely that storage will end the 25/26 heating season at below 25% full. This would also be below the levels seen in 2022. The difference between 2022 and 2026 is that we are currently seeing significant LNG supply ramp-ups, which should help soothe supply concerns to some extent. Oil prices settled lower yesterday, with ICE Brent closing down more than 0.4%. The US winter storm should also support demand for heating fuels, as reflected in the heating oil crack. Freezing conditions will disrupt US oil output. The weather...