This year, the Dow Jones Index is up 13% and the S&P 500 Index is up 15%. Although, inflation and pandemic fears are starting to scare investors. Smaller US company stocks and international company stocks have taken the brunt of this recent fear. June's inflation report showed a 5.4% increase from a year ago, the fastest pace in nearly 13 years, and new Covid-19 cases have nearly tripled since the month before. So far, the overall damage to stocks has been relatively mild, as we are still close to record highs. At this point, these fears do not look to be a significant threat to investors.
Economic reports from last week came back mostly positive: •Small Business Optimism - better than expectation •Manufacturing (New York) - better than expectation •Manufacturing (Philadelphia) - worse than expectation •Jobless Claims - better than expectation •Retail Sales - better than expectation •Consumer Sentiment - worse than expectation This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Housing, National Activity and Jobless Claims.