The week was a bullish one as the S&P 500 closed Friday at 5,615. Building on the previous weeks gains, on Monday the S&P 500 closed up for the 5th day in a row and set a new record high, the 4th in a row. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Powell made it clear to the Senate Banking Committee the prospect of interest rate cuts is growing. Encouraged by these comments the S&P 500 closed up for the 6th day in a row and set a new record high, the 5th in a row. On Wednesday Fed Chair Powell reiterated the same to the House Financial Services Committee, and the S&P 500 closed up for the 7th day in a row, logged an over 1% daily gain (the first since 5 June), crossed above the 5,600 level for the first time ever, and set a new record high, the 6th in a row. Before Thursdays opening bell, Junes Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 0.1% over the previous month and increased just 3.0% over the prior year, with both measures beating expectations. Markedly, this is the first time since May 2020 that monthly CPI came in below 0%. As a result, the 10 Year Note yield fell to 4.19%, its lowest level since March. When the markets opened, the S&P 500 set a new record intraday high within the first 30 minutes, but then sold off the rest of the day, breaking a streak of six record closes. On Friday the Producer Price Index (PPI) came in a little hotter than expected, but the markets shrugged it off hitting another new record intraday high after lunch, but then fell off in the 30 minutes before the close. From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 continues to be bullish with a higher intraweek high and higher intraweek low this week. Next week is pretty light on economic news, awaiting Core PCE on 26 July and the Fed rate decision on 31 July. For TSP TIPS all four of the individual funds hit new 52 week highs this week. The C fund made new highs on Monday through Wednesday, while on Wednesday through Friday it was the I fund. Finally, on Friday the F and S funds made new 52 week highs. As such, we recommend no changes to our current investment mix.
The week was a bullish one as the S&P 500 closed Friday at 5,615. Building on the previous weeks gains, on Monday the S&P 500 closed up for the 5th day in a row and set a new record high, the 4th in a row. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Powell made it clear to the Senate Banking Committee the prospect of interest rate cuts is growing. Encouraged by these comments the S&P 500 closed up for the 6th day in a row and set a new record high, the 5th in a row. On Wednesday Fed Chair Powell reiterated the same to the House Financial Services Committee, and the S&P 500 closed up for the 7th day in a row, logged an over 1% daily gain (the first since 5 June), crossed above the 5,600 level for the first time ever, and set a new record high, the 6th in a row. Before Thursdays opening bell, Junes Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 0.1% over the previous month and increased just 3.0% over the prior year, with both measures beating expectations. Markedly, this is the first time since May 2020 that monthly CPI came in below 0%. As a result, the 10 Year Note yield fell to 4.19%, its lowest level since March. When the markets opened, the S&P 500 set a new record intraday high within the first 30 minutes, but then sold off the rest of the day, breaking a streak of six record closes. On Friday the Producer Price Index (PPI) came in a little hotter than expected, but the markets shrugged it off hitting another new record intraday high after lunch, but then fell off in the 30 minutes before the close. From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 continues to be bullish with a higher intraweek high and higher intraweek low this week. Next week is pretty light on economic news, awaiting Core PCE on 26 July and the Fed rate decision on 31 July. For TSP TIPS all four of the individual funds hit new 52 week highs this week. The C fund made new highs on Monday through Wednesday, while on Wednesday through Friday it was the I fund. Finally, on Friday the F and S funds made new 52 week highs. As such, we recommend no changes to our current investment mix.