Weekly Market Recap – August 10, 2012
(For the week ended August 10, 2012.)
Stocks rose throughout the week to match their longest streak of gains in nearly five months, despite a disappointing Chinese trade report Friday that renewed concern about slowing global economic growth. The rally began with the previous Friday’s better-than-expected U.S. July jobs report and was subsequently supported by hopes that central banks will step in to help stimulate growth. The gains pushed the S&P 500 index above 1,400 for the first time since early May. U.S. economic data released during the week, including Thursday’s news of a 6,000 drop in initial jobless claims, pointed to slow growth, but worries of a recession remained alive.
| Through
8/10/12* |
1 Week | YTD | 1 Year | Closing Value |
| S&P 500 | 1.1% | 11.8% | 19.9% | 1,405.87 |
| Dow Jones Industrials | 0.9% | 8.1% | 18.5% | 13,207.95 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.8% | 16.0% | 21.2% | 3,020.86 |
Source: Standard & Poor’s. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrials, and Nasdaq Composite are unmanaged indexes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
*Price only. Does not include dividends.
Housing recovery? According to data released during the week by CoreLogic Inc., home prices rose 2.5% year-over-year in June and 6.0% quarter-over-quarter in the second quarter of this year. This jump is the largest quarterly gain since 2005. Freddie Mac also reported that home prices during the second quarter surged 4.8% from the previous quarter.
Treasuries The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.64% on Friday afternoon from 1.58% one week earlier, fuelled by a better-than expected jobs report that beat forecasts and some short covering that pushed yields higher.
On the horizon Investors will be eager to see whether U.S. retail sales data due out in the coming week can sustain the market’s upward momentum. Data on inflation, housing starts, and jobless claims will also be scrutinized.
