John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended July 5

Jobs growth cools

June’s gain of 206,000 jobs exceeded economists’ consensus forecast for around 190,000, but a rise in unemployment to 4.1% left the jobless rate at the highest level since November 2021. Moreover, April’s and May’s initially reported jobs growth figures were revised downward by a total of 111,000, adding to the recent data indicating a modest slowdown in jobs growth.

Small caps lag

An index that tracks U.S. small-cap stocks trailed a large-cap benchmark by a wide margin for the week, extending small caps’ year-to-date underperformance. For the week, the Russell 2000 Index was down 1.0% at Friday’s close versus a 1.8% total return for its large-cap peer.

Dividend growth

Companies in the S&P 500 modestly increased their dividend payments in this year’s second quarter as a handful of large-cap stocks began paying dividends for the first time. Companies in the S&P 500 paid out $153.4 billion in dividends, up more than 1% from $151.6 billion in this year’s first quarter, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Inflation report ahead

A Consumer Price Index report scheduled for release on Thursday will show whether May’s stable inflation extended into June. The CPI report covering May showed an annual rate of 3.3%—better than economists’ consensus forecast for 3.4%, but unchanged from the prior month’s figure.

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