Last Week:
- U.S. equities finished mixed for the week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed 250 points higher, or rose 1.16%, to 21,830, helped by strong earnings reports. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index lost a point, or fell 0.02%, to 2,472. The Nasdaq closed last week 0.21% lower at 6,375.
- Economic Update:
- Last week, The Federal Open Market Committee announced their decision to leave interest rates unchanged and plans to begin unwinding the Fed’s balance sheet “relatively soon”. Although the Fed’s language did not change significantly from the previous meeting, the statement noted the recent weakness in inflation.
- On Friday, The Bureau of Economic Analysis also released its “advance” estimate of real gross domestic product (GDP) growth showing the U.S. economy expanded by an annual rate of 2.6% during the second quarter. The increase in real GDP reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditure, non-residential fixed investment, exports and federal government spending, partially offset by negative contributions from private residential fixed investment, private inventory investment, and state and local government spending.
Seasonally Adjusted U.S. Real GDP Growth (%)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Look Ahead:
- Second quarter earnings season continues with results expected from Air Products, Eaton, Pfizer, Apple, Mondelez, Becton Dickinson, and Kraft Heinz among others.
- Key reports/items for the upcoming week include Purchasing Managers Index (PMIs) from various countries, U.S. personal spending data (Jun), ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing (Jul), and U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls (Jul), among others.
