Last week, stocks posted a losing week - the Dow Jones slid 2.27%, its worst week this year, the S&P 500 declined 0.95% and the Nasdaq lost 0.8%. Investors are torn between wanting a strong economy and a weaker jobs market, which would give the Federal Reserve the reason to begin cutting interest rates. For the week, strong economic reports were outweighed by fears of the possibility of escalation in the Middle East.
Economic reports from last week came back mixed:
•Construction Spending - lower than expectation
•Job Openings - lower than expectation
•Vehicle Sales - lower than expectation
•Private Employment - higher than expectation
•Total Employment - higher than expectation
•Consumer Credit - lower than expectation
•Jobless Claims - higher than expectation
This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Small Business Optimism, Inflation, Consumer Sentiment and Jobless Claims.