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DOW – 14 = 18,529
SPX – 1 = 2180
NAS – 7 = 5213
10 Y un 1.59%
OIL + 1.22 = 43.02
GOLD – .40 = 1336.00
The S&P 500Â hit an intraday record high yesterday morning at 2185, as oil prices rose. On Friday, stocks surged, with the Dow jumping nearly 200 points and the S&P and the Nasdaq closing at record highs after a strong July jobs report showed the economy added 255,000 new jobs in July.
Federal Reserve policymaker Jerome Powell says the US economy is at increasing risk of becoming trapped in a prolonged phase of slow growth that points to the need for lower interest rates than previously expected. Powell told the Financial Times he favored a “very gradual†path for any rate hikes as the US economic outlook was dogged by global risks. Powell said, “With inflation below target, I think we can be patient.†Next week, we get the monthly CPI report on July inflation at the retail level; my guess is that anything under 10% inflation and the Fed will continue to remain patient.
Oil rose 2.5% after a report that some OPEC members had called for a freeze in production. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are planning to hold talks next month on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria. But the same obstacles that prevented an agreement on proposals to freeze output in April or fix a new production target in June are still there. Efforts by some OPEC members over the past two years to limit the group’s output have come to nothing. But the threat of a production freeze can help to turn sentiment, at least short-term.
It may feel like earnings season is coming to a close, but one important sector is just getting started. Many of the country’s largest retailers report quarterly earnings this week including: Macy’s (M), Nordstrom (JWN), Kohl’s (KSS), J.C. Penney (JCP), and Ralph Lauren (RL).
