Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 2/7/2025

• US Equity Markets declined last week as weaker-than-expected US economic data and uncertainty around tariffs unsettled markets. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% for the week and is now up 2.5% for the year. The Nasdaq dropped 0.5% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 1.1% for the year, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) was down 0.4% for the week and is now up 2.2% for year.

• Global Equity Markets acted more favorably last week as the Bank of England lowered rates, which follows the rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) the prior week. Developed Markets were down a fractional 0.01% for the week and remain up 5.2% for the year. Emerging Markets increased 1.2% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 3.1%.

• Payroll Gains Came in Weaker-than-Expected for January, pushing interest rates lower. Payrolls for January increased 143K, below estimates and down from 307K in December. The Unemployment Rate ticked down to 4.0% from 4.1% in December. Average Hourly Earnings rose 4.1% from a year ago, higher than projections and flat from December levels. In response, the yield on the US 10-Year Treasury closed the week at 4.49% vs. 4.55% the prior week.

• Technology stocks have begun to underperform, while Healthcare, among the worst performing sectors in 2024, is picking up. The Technology sector had peak relative performance back in July 2024, but hit an 8-month relative performance low last week. By contrast, the Healthcare sector hit a 3-month relative performance high last week. For the year, the technology sector is only up 0.6% while Healthcare is up 6.1%.

Market Data

for the week ending 2/7/2025