There was an onslaught of data last week, which led to gains. Should more be expected with the coming earnings season?
Monday S&P 500 0.27%| NASDAQ 1.09%
ISM Manufacturing unexpectedly slipped and remains in contractionary territory. The weaker economic data would typically signal lower rates as rate cut expectations would increase. To the contrary, 10-year treasuries rose on the day. In the face of weak economic data, the start of the quarter brought optimism towards the next three months.
Tuesday S&P 500 0.62% | NASDAQ .84%
JOLTs job openings rose more than expected to 8.14M openings. For perspective, there were 6.6M unemployed as of the May report. The strong jobs data did not deter markets, though; this may be because the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Chair, J. Powell, spoke on the day. He indicated that progress is being made towards their inflation target. This is the ‘secret sauce’ needed to justify future rate cuts.
Wednesday S&P 500 0.51% | NASDAQ 0.88%
Initial jobless claims rose for the week to 238K from 234K; the level remains elevated, albeit from all-time lows. Factory orders unexpectedly slipped into the negative on the month. Additionally, ISM Services unexpectedly slipped into contractionary territory. This is all bad news for economic production, so why did the markets rise? Interest rates fell as this data increases the likelihood that the FRB will lower rates sooner than expected. The heightened odds are now calling for a .25% cut in September and December, according to CME FedWatch.
Thursday S&P 500 -% | NASDAQ -%
Happy Independence Day!
Friday S&P 500 0.54% | NASDAQ 0.90%
Happy Jobs Friday! The unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, Nonfarm payrolls beat expectations, and participation rose to 62.6% from 62.5%, all for June. The unemployment rate went up even though we added 206K jobs??? Participation went up so, with more people in the market, the rate can go up even as jobs are added. This is a positive signal that workers are returning to the work force. The rise on equity markets, however, was on hopes that economic weakness would be enough for an FRB rate cut.
Conclusion S&P 500 1.95% | NASDAQ 3.55%
This was a busy week for economic data, especially for a holiday shortened week. We got weaker Jobs, manufacturing, Services, and Factory orders. The weakness led to stronger markets on hopes the FRB will cut rates BEFORE a recession can materialize. The coming week starts second quarter earnings. Valuations are stretched (S&P 500 P/E: 28.94) and economic production is weak, very little should be expected from this season. This could be the start of volatility that would lead into the Autumn.
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| AUTHOR: Jason J. Roque, CFP®, APMA®, AWMA® TITLE: Investment Adviser Rep – CCO TAGS: S&P 500, |
This was a quiet week for markets. Is this the calm before the storm, or just the new norm?
Monday
The week opened with more of a whimper than anything else. The trading clearly pointed to renewed concerns regarding COVID and potential closures. The S&P 500 was little changed, down 0.1%. More telling was that energy closed lower and the NASDAQ rose.
Tuesday
Market volume increased Tuesday, however, markets were still fairly subdued. The S&P 500 gained 0.1%. The trading on Tuesday was decidedly more upbeat as everything retraced itself from Monday. Energy surged higher, the NASDAQ fell, and broadly market indices were higher.
Wednesday
Markets edge higher on Wednesday with the S&P 500 gaining 0.2%. CPI data for July showed an inflation rate of 5.4% YoY. While higher than the 5.3% expected, it was only modestly higher. Core CPI, which strips out food and fuel, came it at 4.3%.
Thursday
Markets expanded 0.3% in the most active day last week. Initial jobless claims improved, down to 375K. All major indices with the exception of he Russell 2000 were up.
Friday
The S&P 500 had a quiet Friday, up 0.1% most of the day and closing up 0.2%. Consumer Sentiment is projected to fall for August to 70.2, the lowest projected level since April of 2020.
Conclusion
Good or bad, it was a very quiet week on the market. The S&P rose 31 points, not even a full percent, however, stability and calm are not uncommon for August. The fall return to trade (volumes) could likely carry more volatility for equity markets.
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