ICYMI: Week of July 13th through July 17th: Meet the Opposites
The stock market continues to go up, but the overall economy is still squeamish? How do you make sense of the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street?
One can argue that over the past few years, Wall Street and Main Street only appeared to get along, but behind the scenes were in complete disagreement. It seems that investors are going to ride this thing until the wheels fall off despite the pandemic.
There was news from Moderna Therapeutics about progress on a potential vaccine that excited Wall Street.
This week we had earnings reports from some of the big banks.
European markets were in a holding pattern in anticipation of a meeting between E.U. leaders and the next potential stimulus package.
Let’s take a quick look across the globe, and if you read the below, and you say to yourself, “it’s all Greek to me!” Let’s chat and help you understand.
U.S.:
Banks kicked off earnings season with better than expected results. JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley & Citigroup earnings beat analyst expectations, but Wells Fargo posted a $2.4 billion net loss.
The U.S. markets closed the week with mixed results. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones were up to while Nasdaq was down. The S&P 500, a better indicator of the overall economy, is down 0.19% YTD.
The retail sales report came out this week, and sales were up 7.5%. You may recall that retail sales give insight into how much consumers are spending.
On the unemployment front, the extra $600/week benefit will expire on 7/31, which could cause slower recovery.
Europe:
European markets were waiting for leaders to come to an accord on how to proceed with a potential stimulus.
The goal is an $853 billion package that could help shore up economies.
As of today, a deal still has not been reached.
Latin America:
In Latin America, many countries continue to reel from the impact of COVID. Brazil leads the way with over 77,000 deaths and 2 million cases. Brazil’s Economy Minister has proposed reducing taxes to help boost the economy. The fiscal initiatives implemented by the Brazilian government to combat the pandemic account for 10 percent of the GDP. Brazil’s economy
Asia:
In Asia, Chinese markets were up despite the unease of the U.S. markets. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.1%.
The Shanghai Composite Index was also up a little over 3%. The Nikkei serves as a barometer of the Japanese economy. The companies listed on the Nikkei include Sony, Nissan, Fujifilm, Honda, and Toyota, so make sure to keep an eye on the index. If you’re not sure if you own any shares of any of the companies listed in the Nikkei, review your mutual fund holdings, you may be surprised at the underlying holdings.
Africa:
In Africa, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in Africa, has run into delisting problems. Several companies are choosing to delist from the exchange due to perceived high costs and high regulatory requirements.
Some numbers for people who like numbers:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,672 up 2.3% for the week
S&P 500 closed the week up 1.3% ending at 3,225
Nasdaq was down 1% from the previous week ending at 10,503
MSCI EAFE closed at 1,852 up 2.2%
