The market saw stocks come in with mixed returns. The Dow and the Russell 2000 advanced, while the Nasdaq, the S&P 500, and the Global Dow lost value. The Dow reached three new records during the week, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted their worst week since April. AI stocks led a downturn in tech shares as investors moved to small caps. The CrowdStrike outage impacted flights, banks, telecoms, and media companies worldwide. The market sectors ran the gambit of highs and lows, with energy (1.7%), financials (1.3%), and real estate (1.3%) climbing, while information technology (-4.6%) and communication services (-2.8%) declined. Ten-year Treasury yields rose 5.0 basis points. Crude oil prices declined on demand worries centered on China. The dollar inched up, while gold prices dipped.
Last Week’s Economic News
- Retail sales in June were virtually unchanged from the previous month.
- Import prices were unchanged in June after falling slightly in May.The number of residential building permits issued
- in June rose from the May rate but were below the June 2023 estimate. Building permits for single-family homes declined last month. Housing starts increased a bit in June, while falling 4.4% over the last 12 months. Single-family housing starts slid below the May figure.
- Industrial production rose in June as well as in May. Total industrial production in June was 1.6% above its year-earlier level.
- The national average retail price for regular gasoline was $3.496 per gallon.
- For the week ended July 13, there were 243,000 new claims for unemployment insurance, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week’s level.
Eye on the Week Ahead
There is plenty of market-moving economic data out this week. June reports on sales of both new and existing homes are available. May saw sales of new homes rise, while existing home sales declined. The initial report for second quarter gross domestic product follows a 1.4% advance in the first quarter. The report on personal income and expenditures is also available this week. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure of inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve, was flat in May.
Have a nice week!
Sincerely,
Robert G. Carpenter