Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 10/11/2024

• US Equity Markets shook off geopolitical worries, hotter inflation data, and concerns about hurricanes to post healthy gains last week, as encouraging bank earnings reports raised hopes about the health of the US economy. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 21.9%. The Nasdaq also increased 1.1% for the week and is now up 22.2% for the year, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) was up 1.0% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 10.2%.

• Global Equity Markets were mixed last week, as expectations for additional stimulus out of China failed to materialize. Developed Markets ticked up 0.2% for the week and are now up 8.6% for the year. Emerging Markets dropped 1.7% for the week on weakness in China but remains up 13.3% for the year.

• Hotter than expected inflation causes rates to keep moving higher. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September rose 2.4% from a year ago, worse than expected though down from 2.5% in August. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 3.3%, also worse than expected and up from 3.2% in August. As a result, the yield on the US 10-Year Treasury closed at 4.10% last week vs. 3.98% the prior week. The yield on the 10-Year Treasury appears to have bottomed the day before the Fed rate cut in September at 3.60%.

• Earning for Q3 should mark the fifth consecutive quarter of earnings growth. Earnings are projected to increase 4.1% in Q3 from a year ago, though that is down from 11.2% growth in Q2 and 5.8% in Q1. Technology (up 14.9%), Communication Services (up 10.3%), and Healthcare (up 10.0%) are the sectors projected to post the highest earnings growth, while Energy is projected to see the biggest declines (down 24.3%).

Market Data

for the week ending 10/11/2024