John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended September 6th
Recovery path
U.S. stocks maintained the previous week’s positive momentum, regaining more of the ground lost in a four-week string of declines. With the latest week’s gain of nearly 2%, the S&P 500 was within 2% of its record high set in late July.
Q2 earnings review
Data on the recently concluded earnings season confirms that profits decreased for the second consecutive quarter. Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% relative to the same quarter a year earlier, according to FactSet. On the positive side, 75% of companies exceeded analysts’ earnings expectations.
Jobs slowdown
The U.S. economy continues to generate new jobs, but at a slower rate. August’s gain of 130,000 left the year-to-date monthly jobs growth average at 158,000, down from 2018’s 223,000. The slowdown could bolster the case for another interest-rate cut at the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September 17–18 policy meeting.
Yield recovery
The recent bond price rally finally paused, as yields rose sharply Thursday following news that the United States and China planned to resume trade negotiations. The yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond jumped from as low as 1.43% on Wednesday to 1.57% on Thursday.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/