Markets Recoup Losses to Notch Three-Week Winning Streak…..
The U.S. equity markets finished out a bumpy week in style, posting solid gains for the session and increasing its weekly winning streak to three. Financials led the way, with Information Technology a close second, as Treasuries gave back some of this week’s rally to help yields rebound. The moves came despite palpable uneasiness regarding the potential impact of the spreading Delta coronavirus variant in the world, while investors appeared to shrug off President Joe Biden’s executive order aimed at cracking down on anticompetitive practices among U.S. businesses. In light equity news, Levi Strauss & Co topped earnings forecasts and raised its guidance and dividend, and Costco Wholesale posted another month of strong same-store sales. News on the economic front was scarce, with a stronger-than-expected read on wholesale inventories the only report of note on the docket. Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar was lower, adding to yesterday’s decline, while gold and crude oil prices gained ground. Europe finished with widespread gains to trim a weekly decline, while markets in Asia were again mixed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 448 points (1.3%) to 34,870, the S&P 500 Index added 49 points (1.1%) to 4,370, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 142 points (1.0%) to 14,702. In moderate volume, 816 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 3.7 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. WTI crude oil moved $1.62 higher to $74.56 per barrel. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price increased $10.40 to $1,810.60 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—fell 0.3% to 92.12. Markets were higher for a third-straight week, as the DJIA advanced 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both moved 0.4% to the upside.
Treasury yields move higher after recent drop, wholesale inventories positively revised…..
Treasuries trimmed this week’s gains that have applied noticeable downside pressure on yields. The yield on the 2-year note increased 2 basis points (bps) to 0.22%, the yield on the 10-year note gained 7 bps to 1.36%, and the 30-year bond rate rose 6 bps to 1.99%.
Treasury yields have decisively moved lower as of late despite signs of solid economic activity and inflation pressures, and with the Fed discussing the timing, scope and scale of reducing its monthly asset purchases that were put in place to combat the pandemic’s disruption.
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