The Strength of the Market is: Weak

The S&P 500 closed out its worst first-half performance in decades. All major averages (Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite) have been down four out of the last five weeks and have tumbled back into bear market territory. Adding to the main concerns of persistent inflation, investors are now expecting companies to have lower profits.Wall Street analysts have mixed feelings - some are optimistic that the stock market will recover during the remainder of 2022 and others are preparing for lingering inflation and even more action by the Federal Reserve. Worse yet, worries of a recession are escalating - the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow tracker is pointing to a coming economic recession.

Economic reports from last week came back mostly negative: •Pending Home Sales - better than expectation •Manufacturing (Richmond) - worse than expectation •Consumer Confidence - worse than expectation •Construction Spending - worse than expectation •Personal Income - in-line with expectation •Jobless Claims - worse than expectation In a holiday-shortened week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Vehicle Sales, Job Openings, Employment, Consumer Credit and Jobless Claims.