Stock markets ended the week on a positive note as investors showed optimism that Congress could strike a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a historic default. The S&P 500 rose 1.3% to $4,205.45, up 0.3% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.2% on Friday (May 26) to end the week at 2.5% — its fifth straight week of gains. South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 0.8% to 2,558.81, while the UK’s FTSE 1000 fell 1.7% to 7,627.20.
However, the weekend rally didn’t get the music stock into positive territory. The Billboard Global Stock Index fell 1.9% this week as 15 of the 21 stocks in the index fell. Most companies’ performance fell within a narrow range of profit and loss in the low single digits. Two companies posted double-digit losses: iHeartMedia fell 10.5% to $2.39 and has lost 61% year to date as the radio business experiences a soft advertising market. LiveOne, which announced Tuesday that it will acquire certain assets of podcast network Kast Media, fell 15.2% to $1.28.
The top performer of the index was Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Ltd, which rose 3.3% to £0.775 ($0.96). Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment Co. gained 2.2% and 1.7%, respectively. The two companies were under one roof until the concert promotion business of Madison Square Garden Entertainment was separated from the rest of the company on April 21. A U2 residency fell 3.4% to $24.02 on Friday as Morgan Stanley set a post-spinoff price target of $26 per share.
K-pop stocks were unusually quiet this week. HYBE shares fell 3.9% to 270,000 KRW ($204.02) after the company announced Wednesday that its music would be available in China on Tencent Music Entertainment’s streaming platform. SM Entertainment declined by 2.6% to 104,800 KRW ($79.19). After strong quarterly earnings boosted YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment last week, both stocks were in line with their peers this week: YG Entertainment was flat at 92,000 KRW ($69.52) and JYP Entertainment fell 1.7% to 113,700 KRW ($85.91) came. Still, K-pop stocks are arguably music’s bright spot in 2023. Year-to-date, the stocks of the four companies have gained an average of 67.4%.
