John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended August 31st

August temperature check

With their gains in August, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ have now risen for five months in a row, while the Dow has climbed for three straight months. The NASDAQ was the strongest performer last month, adding nearly 6%, while the S&P 500 climbed 3% and the Dow gained more than 2%.

Market milestones

Major U.S. equity indexes rose modestly, with the NASDAQ outperforming the S&P 500 and the Dow by a wide margin for the second week in a row. The S&P 500 topped 2,900 for the first time, the NASDAQ breached 8,000, and the Dow eclipsed 26,000; however, the Dow was unable to stay above that level by Friday’s close.

4%+ growth

The U.S. economy’s strong performance in this year’s second quarter was confirmed on Wednesday, when the government reported GDP grew at an annual rate of 4.2%. That’s the fastest pace in nearly four years and is slightly above the government’s initial estimate of 4.1%.

Speedy NASDAQ

The NASDAQ’s climb above 8,000 points on Monday marked a rapid rise for an index that’s more heavily weighted in technology stocks than the Dow and the S&P 500. After crossing 7,000 in January, it took the NASDAQ less than eight months to breach 8,000. The last time the index crossed a pair of 1,000-point thresholds in a single year was in 1999.