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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Markets moved north last week. Is the S&P 500 finding its legs or is there cause for concern?
Monday
Markets were mostly flat to open the week. A great signal after ending last week in record territory for the S&P 500. Holding on to those gains may signal more ahead.
Tuesday
The S&P 500 was flat on the day as treasuries got a bid. This is a move that seems to signal investors are beginning to accept Federal Reserve direction. A bid to treasuries is a concession that inflation is likely to not carry as much concern as originally expected.
Wednesday
In a continued bid for safe haven securities, equity markets ended the day slightly lower. The 10-year treasury was getting a bid as it ended the day at 1.47%. This was the lowest level since the beginning of March.
Thursday
Markets climbed on Thursday. CPI data released showed robust growth of inflation, which typically would elicit a falling market. This indicates that while the number was high (Core CPI at 3.8%) it is not expected that inflation will persist.
Friday
As of late, the end of the week has been generally telling for investor sentiment. The data has been light, leaving investor response to really signal what risks the weekend may hold. This Friday we got favorable consumer sentiment projections and a rise in markets. This indicates that the weekends news cycle is not of major concern.
Conclusion
The S&P 500 rose by 0.41% for the week. Movement was fairly muted, but investor sentiment was strong. The volatility could tick up from here as volumes will moderate over the summer months. Lighter volume typically brings choppier waters.
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Always remember that while this is a week in review, this does not trigger or relate to trading activity on your account with Financial Future Services. Broad diversification across several asset classes with a long-term holding strategy is the best strategy in any market environment.
Any and all third-party posts or responses to this blog do not reflect the views of the firm and have not been reviewed by the firm for completeness or accuracy.