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Writer's pictureTaylor Champion

Weekly Market Update – May 20, 2024

Price Return Last Week

S&P 500 +1.5% S&P Mid Cap +0.8% Russell 2000 +1.7%

MSCI EAFE +1.5% MSCI EM +2.6%

10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.50% to 4.42%

Source: Refinitiv Eikon

 

Recent News


Core CPI – April: 0.3% (Reuters Poll est. 0.3%) March: 0.4%

For the first time in the last four months, the CPI report didn’t come in above expectations.  The year-over-year change for Core CPI rose 3.6%, which represents the smallest increase since April 2021.  10-year Treasury rates fell more on the day of the report than any other day in the last four months.

Source: Refinitiv Eikon, The Wall Street Journal


Fed Chair Comments – Jerome Powell comments that while it is still his expectation that inflation will come down, his “confidence in that is not as high as it was.”  He reiterated his previous notion that it would be unlikely that their next move would be a rate hike.

Source: Thomson Reuters


Increased Tariffs – President Biden announced increases in tariffs on a variety of Chinese imports.  Electric vehicles will see tariffs increase to over 100% and semiconductors will see tariffs rise to 50%.  Steel, aluminum, and solar cell imports were impacted as well.

Source: Thomson Reuters


Dow 40,000 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 40,000 for the first time.  In contrast to the S&P 500, which is a market-cap-weighted index and weights stocks based on the total company size, the Dow is a price-weighted index. It ranks stocks, somewhat arbitrarily, based on the price of the stock and, at this point, it is no longer restricted to industrial companies.  While the S&P 500 lists Microsoft as its largest weight, the Dow lists UnitedHealth Group as its top holding because it has a price over $500 a share, despite the overall size of the company falling outside the top ten in the country. 

Source: Refinitiv Eikon, Thomson Reuters


PGA Championship – The first ever PGA Championship was hosted in New York in 1916 with the top prize set at $500.  In inflation-adjusted dollars, that would be worth about $14,000 nowadays.  For 2024, the winning golfer, Xander Schauffele, earned $3.2 million.


 

Upcoming Events


5/20 – Notable Earnings Reports: Palo Alto Networks


5/21 – Notable Earnings Reports: Lowe’s


5/22 – Existing Home Sales, Notable Earnings Reports: Target, NVIDIA, TJX


5/23 – Notable Earnings Reports: Medtronic, Intuit


5/24 – Durable Goods

Source: Refinitiv Eikon

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