John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended August 14th
On the cusp
The S&P 500 on Wednesday closed within a tenth of a percentage point of its record high set six months earlier, but the index couldn’t quite climb above its prior peak of 3,386 points. At Friday’s close, it remained about 0.4% below the record.
Signs of recovery
U.S. retail sales rose 1.2% in July, marking the third consecutive monthly gain, as shopping surpassed prepandemic levels. In the labor market, 963,000 unemployment claims were filed in the latest weekly count, ending a string of 20 consecutive weeks in which claims topped 1 million.
Bond sell-off
After sinking as low as 0.55% in the previous week, the yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond topped 0.70% on Thursday for the first time in nearly two months. U.S. government bonds came under selling pressure after a $38 billion auction of new 10-year notes.
U.S.-China talks
As the week ended, U.S. and Chinese officials opened a new round of trade talks in the wake of rising tensions that have put investors on edge. Among other things, the two economic superpowers planned to evaluate China’s initial compliance with a bilateral trade agreement signed in January.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/