John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended April 12th
Fed’s sweet spot
The U.S. Federal Reserve may keep interest rates unchanged through the rest of this year, although it’s prepared to consider a further increase or perhaps a rate cut if economic conditions significantly shift in coming months. That’s the takeaway that many economists had on Wednesday after reviewing minutes released from the Fed’s most recent policy meeting.
Dividend record?
This year could mark the 10th annual increase in a row for dividend payments and the 8th consecutive year that they break a record, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Dividends are projected to rise more than 5% in 2019, based on current dividend policies of companies in the S&P 500 Index.
Oil’s streak
U.S. crude oil prices climbed for the 6th week in a row, the longest such streak since 2016. Year to date, oil prices have surged nearly 39%.
Meandering market
Stocks rallied on Friday, but otherwise struggled to find direction and ended up little changed overall for the week. The major indexes remained roughly 1% below the record highs they achieved more than six months ago.