The Dow Jones Industrial Average Eked Out A Slim Gain While The S&P 500, Nasdaq, And Russell 2000 All Registered Losses.
Trading this week reflected a consolidation mindset that has taken root in August after a huge, and nearly unabated, run for the stock market since late March. The S&P 500 for its part closed below the 4,500 level on Friday.
This week also featured some sessions with below-average volume at the NYSE, reflecting a lack of participation on this first week full week of August.
There were a number of news catalysts that gave market participants an excuse to take money off the table this week. Global growth concerns were piqued by weaker-than-expected trade data for July and much weaker than expected new yuan loan growth for July out of China, along with a warning from Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings that it anticipates losing nearly $8 billion in the first half of 2023.
Also, a slate of U.S. economic data was mixed in aggregate. Total CPI and core-CPI were both spot-on with consensus estimates while the Producer Price Index for July was hotter than expected at the headline level, but not really too hot after accounting for downward revisions for June. Initial jobless claims, meanwhile, continue to run well below recession levels.
Earlier in the week, Moody's downgraded the credit ratings for 10 smaller U.S. banks and put some bigger banks on watch for downgrade, which also contributed to the consolidation mindset.
On the earnings front, Dow component Walt Disney was a winning standout, jumping 3.2% on the week after reporting results, while UPS sank after it issuing disappointing FY23 revenue outlook, citing weakening e-commerce demand and an expectation for lower volumes following the improved labor contract for the lowered guidance.
The S&P 500 energy (+3.5%) and health care (+2.5%) sectors led the outperformers while the information technology sector (-2.9%) saw the largest decline.
Treasury yields continued to climb this week, acting as another limiting factor for equities. The 2-yr note yield rose 11 basis points to 4.89% and the 10-yr note yield rose nine basis points to 4.17%.
Nasdaq Composite: -1.9% for the week / +30.4% YTD
S&P 500: -0.3% for the week / +16.3% YTD
Russell 2000: -1.7% for the week / +9.3% YTD
S&P Midcap 400: -0.8% for the week / +9.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.6% for the week / +6.4% YTD