? Volatile session for stocks concludes (mostly) in the red

? S&P500 down 0.5% Mon-Fri, marking third consecutive weekly decline

? U.S. macro shows strength with Apr Retail Sales up 1.3%, U. Mitch sentiment rising to 95.8

? EUR/USD down 0.6% on Friday on strong U.S. macro

? Oil prices touch USD 47.02 per barrel, a 6 Mo high, on inventory draw and lower production

Sentiment continued to run fairly negative this week, at least as long as the equity market is concerned. In spite of peaking at over 2,084 points on Tuesday, momentum was soon to change, leading the S&P 500 to decline 1.8% between Wednesday and Friday and ending at a level of 2046.61 points. Concluding with a 0.5% drop marked the third consecutive weekly decline for the S&P 500.

It should be further noted that one could expect more strength in U.S. equity on Friday amid a solid 1.3% increase reported during the day at April’s Advance Retail Sales and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index rising to a level of 95.8 points, an 11 month high, from a previous level of 89.

Decreases in U.S. equity this time were somewhat slated towards traditional industries, rather than high tech, with the Dow losing 1.2% weekly vs. a 0.4% moderation at the Nasdaq (QQQ). Apple’s (AAPL) stock is a noteworthy exception to this, with a 2.3% decline on Thursday, amid Taiwan reports of a drop in iPhone 7 chip orders.

Across the Atlantic, some noteworthy volatility was recorded at the FTSE 100, amid the Bank of England’s rate decision, with a 9-0 consensus of keeping rates on hold. After peaking at 6,193.21 points shortly after the rate announcement, the FTSE began descending quickly. The index touched 6,060.10 on Friday and later recovering somewhat to conclude a 0.2% weekly gain. The BoE’s rate announcement also strengthened the GBP, seeing GBP/USD peak at 1.5431 on Thursday, though this quickly dissolved with the pair continuing to trade at around a 1.4450 handle. Friday’s strong U.S. consumer sentiment data helped the USD strengthen further, seeing GBP/USD end the week at 1.4365, a 0.4% decline. EUR/USD, similarly, lost 0.8%, closing at 1.1309.