John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended October 28th

GDP turnaround

U.S. economic growth returned to positive territory in the third quarter after recording slightly negative results in the first two quarters of 2022. GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.6% in the latest period, beating most economists’ expectations and easing concerns about the prospects of a protracted recession.

Yield reversal

The yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell, finally snapping a 12-week string of gains that boosted the yield to the highest level since 2008. It settled to around 4.02% on Friday after briefly climbing as high as 4.33% the previous week. When the streak began in early August, the yield was around 2.60%.

Fed’s steep path

At its next meeting ending on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to lift its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, marking the fourth time in a row it’s approved such a steep increase. The Fed’s latest such hike in September pushed the rate to a range of 3.00% to 3.25%—a level last seen in 2008.

Jobs ahead

A monthly U.S. labor market update due out on Friday will show whether the strong—but moderating—jobs growth recorded in recent months extended into October. In September, the economy generated 263,000 new jobs—down from 315,000 in August—while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% from 3.7%.

Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/