While the market finished Friday's session higher, it wasn't enough to overcome a losing week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapped a three-week advance, seeing five-day losses of more than 1% and roughly 2%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 1%, marking its straight weekly decline.
Bonds in the driver's seat
Sovereign bond yields were the major catalyst for the week's pressure. On Tuesday, yields around the world jumped to multi-year highs as fears around inflation and government borrowing plagued investors.
Yields declined Wednesday after the Treasury Department pledged to at least double government debt buybacks in the next few months, before rising again the next day.
Signs of slower consumer spending
Walmart contributed to the downdraft on Thursday, when its shares saw their worst one-day slump in more than four years after the country's largest brick-and-mortar retailer said U.S. same-store sales growth in the second quarter fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Static U.S.-Iran war
The Middle East war also dominated headlines after a 60-day peace window expired earlier in the week without the U.S. and Iran reaching an agreement.
