John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ending September 9th

Momentum shift

The major U.S. stock indexes closed out a holiday-shortened week with solid gains, snapping a three-week losing streak that sent the S&P 500 down more than 8%. For the latest week, that index rose nearly 4%; the NASDAQ’s gain exceeded 4% and the Dow was up almost 3%.

10-year yield’s relentless rise

With further U.S. rate interest-rate hikes expected, the yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond climbed for the sixth week in a row, reaching around 3.32% on Friday. The yield is up from 2.64% at the end of July.

Recession obsession

In the wake of the recent U.S. economic downturn, a growing number of U.S. corporate executives are talking about a recession. The research firm FactSet searched conference call transcripts from the recently concluded quarterly earnings season and found that nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 mentioned the term “recession.” The total—240 companies—was the highest that FactSet has tracked in records going back to 2010.

Price check ahead

A Consumer Price Index report scheduled to be released on Tuesday will show whether the recent moderation in inflation extended into August. In July, inflation rose at an annual 8.5% rate, marking a slowdown from the previous month’s 9.1% figure, largely due to falling gasoline prices.

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