John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended July 4
Q2’s market comeback
U.S. stock indexes finished this year’s second quarter with big gains despite April’s tariff-driven market decline. The S&P 500 climbed 10.6% overall after posting monthly gains of 6.2% in May and 5.0% in June. On a year-to-date basis, the index was up 5.5% as the quarter closed on Monday.
Jobs strength
Stocks posted the week’s biggest daily gains on Thursday after an employment report modestly exceeded expectations. The economy generated 147,000 new jobs in June, above consensus expectations of around 117,000. Initial estimates for the previous two months’ gains were revised upward, in contrast with a recent trend of downward adjustments. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% from 4.2% in May.
Budget approved
Congress narrowly approved the Trump administration’s budget and domestic policy bill and sent it to the White House for signing into law. The measure cleared the Senate on Tuesday as the vice president broke a 50-50 tie vote. On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the bill on a 218-214 vote.
Earnings outlook
Growth expectations are modest as major U.S. banks prepare to kick off earnings season in mid-July. As of Thursday, analysts were expecting companies in the S&P 500 to report second-quarter earnings growth averaging around 5.0%, according to FactSet. If that turns out to be the actual growth rate, it would be the smallest increase since the fourth quarter of 2023.
SOURCE: https://www.jhinvestments.com/weekly-market-recap#market-moving-news