The S&P 500 closed at 7,711 on Friday, up 0.49% on the week and now up in four of the last five weeks. On Monday the S&P 500 fell slightly as declines in chip stocks and other tech names weighed on the broader market. Bond yields continued their dominance as it was reported that the Treasury Department could use its $1 trillion General Account to fund its plans to ramp up government bond purchases. On Tuesday the markets recouped Mondays losses despite Dicks Sporting Goods (DKS) closing down 30.68%, its worst single-day percentage decline on record due to the Foot Locker acquisition drag with weak comparable sales. On Wednesday the S&P 500 was relatively unchanged after Julys personal consumption expenditures price index showed a month-over-month and year-over-year increase of 0.2% and 3.7%, respectively, with both coming in as expected. However, after Wednesdays close Nvidia (NVDA) reported earnings which shocked analysts by guiding a 70% growth in revenues, far above the 44% expected. This led to the best day of the week for the S&P 500 and investors waiting for Friday and Fed Chair Warsh remarks at the central banks annual symposium in Jackson Hole. Stating that While this summers PCE and CPI readings were better than expected, they do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved the markets reacted positively with the S&P 500 tacking on a 0.5% gain in the weeks final session. From a technical perspective the S&P 500 did bounce back this week after last weeks loss and remains about 1% from its record close of 7,785 on 13 August. For next week earnings season is closing out and the headline news will be Fridays payrolls and employment reports. For TSP TIPS both the C and I funds have Composite Scores of 100, but the I fund now leads the Performance Rankings leaderboard having made a new record high on Tuesday. As such we are recommending our last investment mix change for 31 August as we close out the month.
The S&P 500 closed at 7,711 on Friday, up 0.49% on the week and now up in four of the last five weeks. On Monday the S&P 500 fell slightly as declines in chip stocks and other tech names weighed on the broader market. Bond yields continued their dominance as it was reported that the Treasury Department could use its $1 trillion General Account to fund its plans to ramp up government bond purchases. On Tuesday the markets recouped Mondays losses despite Dicks Sporting Goods (DKS) closing down 30.68%, its worst single-day percentage decline on record due to the Foot Locker acquisition drag with weak comparable sales. On Wednesday the S&P 500 was relatively unchanged after Julys personal consumption expenditures price index showed a month-over-month and year-over-year increase of 0.2% and 3.7%, respectively, with both coming in as expected. However, after Wednesdays close Nvidia (NVDA) reported earnings which shocked analysts by guiding a 70% growth in revenues, far above the 44% expected. This led to the best day of the week for the S&P 500 and investors waiting for Friday and Fed Chair Warsh remarks at the central banks annual symposium in Jackson Hole. Stating that While this summers PCE and CPI readings were better than expected, they do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved the markets reacted positively with the S&P 500 tacking on a 0.5% gain in the weeks final session. From a technical perspective the S&P 500 did bounce back this week after last weeks loss and remains about 1% from its record close of 7,785 on 13 August. For next week earnings season is closing out and the headline news will be Fridays payrolls and employment reports. For TSP TIPS both the C and I funds have Composite Scores of 100, but the I fund now leads the Performance Rankings leaderboard having made a new record high on Tuesday. As such we are recommending our last investment mix change for 31 August as we close out the month.