Last Week:

  • U.S. equities finished positive for the week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed 200 points higher, or rose 0.86%, to 23,558. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index gained 24 points, or rose 0.91%, to 2,602. The Nasdaq closed last week 1.57% higher at 6,889. A strong rally in tech stocks led the market’s surge to new record highs during the holiday-shortened week.
  • U.S. Economic Indicators (LEI): The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators Index for the U.S. rose 1.2% for the month of October, following a 0.1% increase in September, and 0.4% increase in August. “The growth of the LEI, coupled with widespread strengths among its components, suggest that solid growth in the U.S. economy will continue through the holiday season and into the New Year,” according to The Conference Board. The Board’s Coincident Economic Index (CEI), a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.3%, and the Lagging Economic Index increased 0.2% in October.

U.S. Composite Leading Economic Indicators Index (2010 = 100)

Haverford Trust Line Graph - Comparative Analysis of Leading and Coincident Economic Index for the United States.
Source: The Conference Board (November 2017)

Look Ahead:

  • Key reports/items for the upcoming week include, PMIs for U.S. and Europe, U.S. Personal Spending (Oct), second revision of U.S. third quarter GDP, and Consumer Confidence numbers (Nov). The Senate also plans to hold a confirmation hearing for Fed Chair Candidate Jerome Powell on Tuesday, with Janet Yellen testifying to Congress on the economic outlook on Wednesday.