March 25 – March 29 Week in Review
The stock market continued to march higher last week with all the major indices posting gains. The S&P 500 rose 1.20% to cap off its best quarter since 2009, gaining 13.1% overall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.67%, the Nasdaq Composite up 1.13%, and the Russell 2000 up 2.25% on the week also finished with quarterly gains of 11.2%, 16.5%, and 14.2%, respectively.
The S&P 500 industrials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples sectors led the broader market higher. Conversely, the utilities and communication services sectors were the lone groups to finish with losses.
Continued weakness in the Eurozone contributed to a slow start for the broader market last week. Concerns about growth sent the yield on the benchmark 10 year German bund into negative territory. Dwindling growth expectations and the hunt for yields sent overseas investors flocking to the U.S. Treasury market, sending yields even lower.
The 2 year yield and the 10 year yield declined five basis points each to 2.27% and 2.41%, respectively. Strikingly, the 2 year yield dropped 23 basis points this month, while the 10 year yield dropped 30 basis points this month. It should be noted, though, that the 2 year yield was at 2.16% at its low, and the 10 year yield was at 2.34% at its low this week.
The relatively low yields appear to be helping the U.S. housing market, which should offer a measure of support for the economy. Mortgage applications continued to increase, new home sales increased last month, and homebuilders KB Home and Lennar provided investors with an upbeat outlook for the sector when they announced earnings.
In other news the U.S. and China held "constructive" trade talks in Beijing, UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was shut down for the third time and Lyft launched its highly anticipated IPO on Friday.
In other markets the U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.6% to 97.27 and WTI crude closed at $60.18 reaching its highest level since late 2018.
April 1 – April 5 Economic Calendar