The Strength of the Market is: Strong

Last week, the S&P 500 rose each day and posted a sharp weekly gain, looking past disappointing consumer sentiment data and persistent inflation worries. For the week, the S&P 500 surged 5.3%, the Dow Jones gained 3.4% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 7.2%. Technology stocks had a strong week - Nvidia gained about 16%, Facebook advanced 8%, Apple climbed 6% and Microsoft popped 3%. Stocks have made a strong comeback since U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on a 90-day truce in their tariff measures, easing investor fears of escalating global trade tensions. More clarity on the trade front should come in the weeks ahead.

Economic reports from last week came back mixed:

•Small Business Optimism - higher than expectation

•Inflation (Consumer) - lower than expectation

•Inflation (Producer) - lower than expectation

•Manufacturing (Philadelphia) - higher than expectation

•Manufacturing (New York) - lower than expectation

•Retail Sales - in-line with expectation

•Homebuilder Sentiment - lower than expectation

•New Residential Construction - lower than expectation

•Consumer Sentiment - lower than expectation

•Jobless Claims - in-line with expectation

This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Housing, National Economic Activity, Manufacturing and Jobless Claims.