Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 12/06/2024

• US Equity Markets were mixed last week, as strength in mega-cap technology stocks offset weakness in most other areas of the market. The S&P 500 closed at a record high last week, up 1.0% for the week and now up 27.7% for the year. The Nasdaq surged 3.3% for the week on the gains in technology stocks to bring its gains for the year to 32.3%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) dropped 1.1% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 18.8%.

• Global Equity Markets posted gains last week as strength in Asian markets overcame rising political uncertainty in Europe amid issues in France. Developed Markets were up 1.4% for the week and are now up 6.4% for the year. Emerging Markets rallied 2.5% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 8.0%.

• Improving Payroll Data continue to point to a healthy US economy. Payroll gains for November came in at 227K, higher than the 200K expected and up from hurricane/strike-impacted October levels of 36K. The Unemployment Rate for November ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1% in October, in line with expectations. Investors now believe there is an 86% probability that the Fed will lower interest rates by another 0.25% at its meeting later this month.

• Participation in the market rally through November has broadened, though still remains well below historical levels. Through November, the ten largest stocks in the S&P 500 have accounted for 52% of the equity market returns, down from 77% at the end of June. While better, that remains 2.5x to 3.0x the historical norm of around 15-20%. For perspective, the S&P 500 Equal Weight index is only up 17.3% for the year compared to the S&P 500 gain of 27.7%.

Market Data

for the week ending 12/06/2024