We hope that everyone enjoyed their Mother’s Day last weekend! The Long family spent the day relaxing by the pool and eating Sunday dinner, compliments of Laura’s parents. It ended up being a nice precursor to the week, which went sideways beginning Monday when I came down with a stomach bug. Fortunately it lasted about 24 hours; not so fortunately we passed it from person to person each day of the week. I appreciate everyone who was flexible in rescheduling and am happy to report that everyone is on the mend!
And now onto the weekly recap:
The major indices all logged gains this week, which ends a six week stupor for the S&P 500 where it neither gained nor declined more than 1.0%. The S&P 500 also hit a new closing high for the year on Thursday (4,199) and a new intraday high for the year on Friday (4,212). The index was unable, however, to maintain a posture above 4,200 on a closing basis, which has been an area of stern resistance since August 2022.
The continued outperformance of the mega cap stocks helped to support index performance, yet more stocks under the surface participated in this week's gains compared to recent weeks. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) rose 2.9% and the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) rose 1.0%. The market-cap weighted S&P 500 gained 1.7%.
Market participants were contending with mixed directions signals throughout the week. Optimism about a debt ceiling deal began to emerge after President Biden met with congressional leaders on Tuesday. Commentary from congressional leaders fueled hope that the parties were more aligned with debt ceiling negotiations. That optimism continued to build until Friday when Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman tweeted that "debt limit talks between the White House and House Republicans have been paused, per multiple sources involved in the talks."
Some hawkish sounding Fed commentary was also in play this week. Specifically, Dallas Fed President Logan (FOMC voter) said that current data doesn't yet support the Fed pausing in June. St. Louis Fed President Bullard (not an FOMC voter) acknowledged the need to raise rates further since inflation remains persistently high. Although Mr. Bullard does not vote on the 2023 FOMC, his view nonetheless reinforces the notion that Fed officials are not talking rate cuts this year.
Treasuries saw some unwinding of the safety premium this week, especially at the short end of the curve, as participants contemplated the possibility of the Fed raising rates again at the June FOMC meeting. The 2-yr note yield rose 29 basis points this week to 4.27% and the 10-yr note yield rose 23 basis points to 3.69%.
The bond market was also reacting to the optimism early in the week about debt ceiling talks along with some pleasing price action in regional bank stocks. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) rose 7.8% after Western Alliance (WAL) said its deposits have increased by more than $2 billion since the end of the first quarter. WAL rose 24.9% this week on the news.
Earnings season is winding down, but this week was punctuated by earnings reports from some key retailers. Dow components Home Depot (HD) and Walmart (WMT) received mixed reactions with HD losing some ground and WMT moving higher after they reported earnings. Target (TGT) also moved higher on its earnings report while Foot Locker (FL) plunged 27% on Friday after reporting disappointing earnings results and issuing dismal guidance.
Most of the S&P 500 sectors logged gains this week led by information technology (+4.2%), consumer discretionary (+2.6%), communication services (+3.1%), and financials (+2.2%). Meanwhile, the utilities (-4.4%) sector saw the biggest decline by a decent margin followed by real estate (-2.4%).
The data provided is for informational purposes only and is not an endorsement of any security, mutual fund, sector, or index. The information contained here is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. All economic and performance information is historical and does not guarantee future results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index comprising 30 widely traded blue chip U.S. common stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value-weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The S&P 500 Index tracks the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. The MSCI Europe, Australasia, and Far East (EAFE) Index tracks the performance of publicly traded large- and mid-cap stocks of companies in those regions. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) shows the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility and is constructed using the implied volatilities of a wide range of S&P 500 Index options. Weekly and year-to-date figures for the VIX show percentage changes, not investment returns. The Russell 2000 Index tracks the performance of approximately 2,000 publicly traded small-cap companies in the United States. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
The Treasury yield curve is derived from available U.S. Treasury securities trading in the market and is provided directly by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The spread measures the difference in yield between two government securities. A normal (positive) yield curve occurs when longer-term rates are higher than shorter-term rates. The opposite holds true for an inverted yield curve. Year-to-date changes in U.S. Treasury bond yields are shown in basis points (bps). One hundred basis points equals one percent.
Oil prices are represented by West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.
The G20 countries comprise a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product, and over 75% of global trade.