Weekly Commentary (6/24/24) – Equity Markets Finish Higher … again

All major indices moved higher last week; we saw a bit of a shift with the DJIA leading the pack as there was a broadening out of the market. 

For the week, the DJIA added 1.50% while the S&P 500 gained 0.63% for the week.  The tech-heavy Nasdaq tacked on 0.01%. The MSCI EAFE Index moved higher by 0.07% while emerging market equities (MSCI EM) were up 1.00%.  Small company stocks, represented by the Russell 2000, closed 0.80% higher.  Fixed income, represented by the Bloomberg/Barclays Aggregate, was 0.15% lower last week as yields moved modestly higher across the entire yield curve.  As a result, the 10 YR US Treasury closed at a yield of 4.25% (up 5bps from the previous week’s closing yield of ~4.20%). Gold prices closed at $2,335/oz. – down 0.64%.  Oil prices jumped higher by 3.6% to close at $81.32 per barrel. 

As expected, it was a relatively quiet week because of the mid-week holiday. S&P’s June PMI report offered some positives for the economy with both the manufacturing and services indices readings showing expansion. The retail sales report for May came in with a slight uptick of 0.2% month over month (2% from a year ago). The only disappointing economic release was housing starts which show a 1.28M annualized decline.  

This week will have another round of housing reports, as well as a report on inflation (PCE). We anticipate another slow week for the markets as we are officially entering the dog days of summer! Stay Well!

"They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.”  -  Willie Mays