Last week, a strong first half of the year was wrapped up. For June, stocks were up for a seventh month out of the last eight - the Nasdaq was up nearly 6%, the S&P 500 gained 3.5% and the Dow Jones added 1.1%. Last week, the Nasdaq added 0.2% and the S&P 500 and the Dow were lower by less than 0.1%. New reports are showing that inflation has slowed to its lowest annual rate in more than three years, a positive for financial markets, and the Artificial Intelligence theme has seemed to take over the entire stock market. Moving into the second half of 2024, the presidential election, the timing of interest rate cuts and consumer spending could all weigh on stocks. Investors should expect a higher level of market volatility in the second half of the year.
Economic reports from last week came back mixed:
•Manufacturing (Dallas) - lower than expectation
•Manufacturing (Richmond) - lower than expectation
•National Economic Activity - higher than expectation
•Single-Family Home Values - lower than expectation
•New Home Sales - lower than expectation
•Pending Home Sales - lower than expectation
•Personal Income - higher than expectation
•Consumer Sentiment - higher than expectation
•Jobless Claims - lower than expectation
In a holiday-shortened week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Construction Spending, Vehicle Sales, Employment, Job Openings and Jobless Claims.
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