EmailWeekly Wrap
Archive
Last Update: 01-Jul-11 17:33 ET
Weekly Wrap for June 27, 2011
The stock market rallied the most in two years ahead of the holiday shortened week. The major indices advanced ahead of and after the Greek parliament successfully voted on austerity measures that are needed in order to get a bailout and avoid default. As stocks rallied, the dollar fell, commodities gained and yields on Treasuries bounced higher.
Buying interest was broad-based – only seven stocks within the S&P 500 posted a loss. The 10 sectors gained at least 2.9%. Tech led the way, rallying 6.9%, followed by a 6.4% gain in industrials. Defensive sectors underperformed on a relative basis with Consumer staples up 2.9% and utilities gaining 3.4%.
The rally this week leaves only financials in the red for the year (-2.0%). The healthcare sector is still the top gainer (+14.1%) despite underperforming this week.
In corporate items, news that Bank of America (BAC) agreed to an $8.5 bln mortgage settlement with a bevy of influential investors. Shares rose 5.4%.
Credit/debit card companies rallied the most this week after the interchange fee cap was lowered by a lower-than-expected amount. MasterCard (MA) gained 15.4% and Visa (V) climbed 19.8%.
The market had a relatively limited reaction to economic data this week, though an upside surprise on ISM helped extend gains Friday.
Initial claims have levitated above 400,000 for many weeks now without any special factors to account for the uptick. The latest report didn't show anything different, as claims for the week ending June 25 were 428,000 (Briefing.com consensus 420,000), down a mere 1,000 from the week before. The 4-week moving average rose slightly to 426,750.
Although this initial claims report will not factor into the upcoming employment report for June, the persistent levitation above 400,000 will keep expectations for strong, nonfarm payroll growth in check. Payroll gains in excess of 100,000 are needed to support normal labor force growth and a stable unemployment rate.
As a reminder, the stock market is closed Monday in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.
Buying interest was broad-based – only seven stocks within the S&P 500 posted a loss. The 10 sectors gained at least 2.9%. Tech led the way, rallying 6.9%, followed by a 6.4% gain in industrials. Defensive sectors underperformed on a relative basis with Consumer staples up 2.9% and utilities gaining 3.4%.
The rally this week leaves only financials in the red for the year (-2.0%). The healthcare sector is still the top gainer (+14.1%) despite underperforming this week.
In corporate items, news that Bank of America (BAC) agreed to an $8.5 bln mortgage settlement with a bevy of influential investors. Shares rose 5.4%.
Credit/debit card companies rallied the most this week after the interchange fee cap was lowered by a lower-than-expected amount. MasterCard (MA) gained 15.4% and Visa (V) climbed 19.8%.
The market had a relatively limited reaction to economic data this week, though an upside surprise on ISM helped extend gains Friday.
Initial claims have levitated above 400,000 for many weeks now without any special factors to account for the uptick. The latest report didn't show anything different, as claims for the week ending June 25 were 428,000 (Briefing.com consensus 420,000), down a mere 1,000 from the week before. The 4-week moving average rose slightly to 426,750.
Although this initial claims report will not factor into the upcoming employment report for June, the persistent levitation above 400,000 will keep expectations for strong, nonfarm payroll growth in check. Payroll gains in excess of 100,000 are needed to support normal labor force growth and a stable unemployment rate.
As a reminder, the stock market is closed Monday in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.
| Index | Started Week | Ended Week | Change | % Change | YTD % |
| DJIA | 11934.58 | 12582.70 | 648.12 | 5.4 | 8.7 |
| Nasdaq | 2652.89 | 2816.03 | 163.14 | 6.1 | 6.2 |
| S&P 500 | 1268.44 | 1339.67 | 71.23 | 5.6 | 6.5 |
| Russell 2000 | 797.79 | 840.04 | 42.25 | 5.3 | 7.2 |
