Highlights of the week ended July 7, 2017 and a look ahead to this week’s expected announcements and potential market-moving activity.

Last Week:

  • U.S. equities finished positive for the week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed 65 points higher, or rose 0.30%, to 21,414. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index gained 2 points, or rose 0.07%, to 2,425. The Nasdaq closed last week 0.21% higher at 6,153.
  • Another strong Jobs Report: Last week, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported total nonfarm payrolls for the month of June rose by +222,000 jobs (vs consensus estimates of +174,000), with the unemployment rate little changed at 4.4%. The largest job gains were in healthcare, social assistance, financial activities, and mining. The Labor Force Participation rate ticked up by 0.1% to 62.8%, while wage growth remained modest at 0.2% month over month and 2.5% year over year. Fed officials have been very clear about another possible rate hike if the job numbers, among other economic indicators remain strong.

Look Ahead:

  • Second quarter earnings season continues with results expected from General Mills, Pepsico, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo among others.
  • Key reports/items for the upcoming week include, retail sales numbers, the consumer price index and industrial production for June. Fed Chair Janet Yellen gives her semi-annual testimony on monetary policy to the House Financial Services Committee this week.